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THE 



STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL, 



BEEEDI]^G, EEAEIXG, AXD TEEAT]yiE:N"T OF 
DISEASE 11^ FAEM STOCK, 




iNQLUDINa THEI)ISEASES AND ACC^IDENTS INCIDENTAL TO 
^yL/\ (\/ y^PvEGNANCY AND PARTrKITION, 

DR. G. STUART, VETERINARY SURGEON, 

Veterinary Editor "Ohio Farmer"" and ''Cleveland Weekly Plain Dealer,' 
Author of the "■Every Day Treatment of the JHorse," "Typhoid Fever 
in Domestic Anitnals,'"' "Hog Cholera,^' "Trichina^'"' Etc. 

^S^ ASSISTED BY HIS SON, 

DE. J. T. STUAET, VETEEINAEY SUEGEON, 

Chicago Veterinary College. 



CLEVELAND: 

WHITWORTH BROS. 

1888. 



Db 



Copyright, 1888. 
By Dr. G. Stuart and J. T. Stuart. 






PREFACE. 



I have the honor to answer inquiries every day 
from the subscribers of the Ohio Farmer and Weekly 
Plain Dealer, as veterinary editor of each paper. • I 
may state that the universal circulation of the Ohio 
Farmer in every civilized country of the world has in- 
duced us to publish to every stock breeder the long-felt 
want of practical information in the plainest language, 
not only as a treatise on the diseases of the domestic 
animals, but a preventive of the various diseases 
to which they are liable. The several chapters, fully 
illustrated, on dystocia, or abnormal presentation of the 
young at birth, never has been so plainly laid before the 
stock breeder by any author, either veterinarian or 
stock breeder, in America. Therefore we have been 
induced to respond to the request of many to publish 
this work. 

We do not consider that success and development 
in the breeding and prosperit}^ of our American fine 
stock is, or ever has been, achieved by the veterinarian. 
No! although they lay great stress on the supposed 
50,000,000 live stock in the United States, we spurn to 
lay claim to any such honor. It is to the inteUigence, 
energy, and good judgment of our American stock 
breeders alone, who deserve the honor; and would have 
been done if there had never been a veterinarian on the 



4 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

face of the earth. The losses sustained by our stock 
breeders, caused by abortion, premature parturition, 
and.unnatural presentation, are much more serious than 
any one has anv idea. 

We are fullv aware that we have grappled with a 
serious task, and defects will doubtless be discovered. 
We have not onlv given practical treatment in disease, 
diagnosed from the description of the ov\-ner, but we 
have fully demonstrated, by illustration, the simplest, 
plainest, and most successful principle, all founded on 
fortv-three vears'ipractice in the veterinary profession. 

Dr. G. Stuart, V. S.. 
Dr. J. T. Stuart, V. S. 
Cleveland, Ohio, July i, t888. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Obstetrical physiology or parturition of the animal 
race is so little understood, that I have been induced to 
offer owners and breeders of stock important informa- 
tion regarding parturition, and saving the life of dam 
and offspring. I have made the operation of colting, 
calvmg, lambing, and farrowing, plainly illustrated, as I 
have found them in my daily practice with the best 
known plan and practical effort to save both mare and 
colt, as well as cow and calf. Parturition, with all 
female life, causes a peculiar change in the system. The 
anatomy, physiology, and pathology, which are directly 
related to the process of generation, gestation, and par- 
turition, as well as that act itself, belong to the section 
of obstetrics to which the designation of dystocia 
(or difficult parturition) has been given. 

We will discuss each of these subjects in the order 
in which they have come under our practice, com- 
mencing with the pelvis and the internal organs of 
generation. 

OBSTETRICAL ANATOMY. 

The female organs chiefly concerned in generation 
and parturition are either entirely or passive, or more 
or less active, according as they are composed of hard, 
bony, or soft parts. The pelvis constitutes the hrst, 
while the second are composed of the organs and 



6 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

structures contained within, or more or less directly 
attached to it. It also forms the canal or passage by 
which the foetus has to traverse in order to reach the 
external world in the act of parturition. 

The soft organs are the vulva, vagina, uterus, ova- 
ries, and mamma. The latter furnish the young crea- 
ture with its proper nourishment immediately after 
birth. Of these soft organs some are external, and 
others are internal ; the first are the vulva and mamma, 
and the second are the vagina, uterus, and ovaries, 
Th*^. •vagina and the greater portion of the unimpreg- 
nated uterus are contained in the cavitj of the pelvis ; 
and the ovaries, as well as the uterus during pregnancy, 
are lodged in the abdomen. 

This work will commence with an examination of 
the pelvis in the various domestic animals, beginning 
with a description of the bones that are in any way in- 
volved ; then the ligaments ; and lastly, the osseous 
structure, which is of great importance when consid- 
ered as a whole. Afterwards, the external and inter- 
nal organs of generation will be minutely described 
and illustrated, and the difference noted in the various 
species. The equine and bovine species will be taken 
as the type, and the difference in other species com- 
pared with it. 



CHAPTER I 



The Pelvis. 




Pelvis of the Coa\\ 

a-ilitjm. b-pubis. c-ischiumen. d-for amen ovale. e-ischiatic 
spine. f-cotyloid cavity. g-tuberosity of the 

ISCHIUM. 

The pelvis is a large symmetrical, more or less hori- 
zontal cavity or canal, which continues the abdomen 
posteriorly, with which it communicates in front. It is 
formed of strong, bony, and ligamentous walls, and 
contams, and sustains, and protects a portion of the 
genito-urinary apparatus, as well as the portion of the 
alimentary canal. It is situated toward the end of the 



8 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

spine, and is supported by the posterior extremities 
with which it is connected with joints and muscles. 
For the hind limbs, as well as some of the powerful 
muscles of the trunk, the pelvis constitutes a most 
powerful fulcrum or fixed point in various movements. 
It is one of the mechanical elements concerned in the 
act of parturition, and its form varies more or less in 
different species, though its direction is always rectilin- 
ear in our domestic animals, and not incurvated, as in 
the human species. 

SECTION I. — BONES OF THE PELVIS. 

The pelvis is composed of three principal bones, 
the two coxae, or ossa innominata, and the sacrum, and 
to a certain extent of the coccygeal, or tail bones. At 
an early period of life these bones can be subdivided, 
but after a certain time they become consolidated. Each 
coxal bone, for instance, is, at an early stage of extra 
uterine existence, composed of cartilage only; subse- 
quently three centres of ossification appear, and these 
extend until at birth they coalesce to form three bones 
which are united by cartilage. In addition to these 
centres two complementary nuclei are present, one o f 
which constitutes what is termed the anterior iliac crest 
or spine, and the iliopectineal line or ridge, and the other 
the ischiatic tuberosity. After birth the three chief 
portions of the coxse are completely ossified, and meet 
in the acetabulum, where they are closely joined, and 
at the pubic symphysis, where the coxa of one side 
meets its fellow of the other side. In youth the differ- 
ent parts of each coxa arc very thick, the spong}^' tis- 
sue being abundant, and the compact tissue scanty; as 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 9 

the animal advances in age, the former diminishes and 
the latter increases in density and thickness, the two 
layers closely approaching each other. 



CHAPTER II. 



Description and I^ames of the Different Bones of the 
Pelvis and Difference in the Anatomy Between the 
Male and Female. 

My object in illustrating and showing the pelvis is 
to show the difference between the space and width of 
the mare and the cow, the ewe bearing a close re- 
semblance to the cow in that particular, as the hog does 
to the horse, the hog having a very narrow pelvis, while 
the ewe has a wide pelvis. The wideness of the calf 
and lamb across the forehead, and the difference of the 
fore part of the colt and pig. Nature has made ample 
provision for the exit from uterine life, to extensions of 
the lungs and aerated circulation when in contact with 
the oxygen of the air. 

SECTION II. 

The coxa or os innominatum is a porous bone, there 
being one on each side; it belongs to the trunk through 
its concurrence in the formation of the pelvis, and also 
of the posterior limb, of which it constitutes the first 
ray or haunch. I have shown and explained the coty- 
loid cavity or acetabulum in which the corresponding 
articular head of the femur is lodged and moves, where 
hip joint lameness is the seat either by fracture or 
dislocation; the cervix or part of the femur bone of the 



lO THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

thigh is sometimes injured by an animal being backed 
against a post or other obstruction, or by a sudden or 
severe fall. All tend to cause injury to the cartilage 
that surrounds the edge of the cup or condyle of the 
pelvis or cervix of the femur bone. Fracture of the 
pelvis is often seen in the cow, and is caused by being 
too rapidly driven into the stable or barn; striking the 
side of the sill, because it projects beyond the square of 
the ribs. In some cases where the pelvis at B is 
fractured from the outside, it seriously interferes with 
parturition, and unless the pelvis is small, death is the 
result; but if the operator can cut the foetus to pieces, 
called embryotomy, without injury to the dam, then 
her life may be saved. 

I would not recommend breeding from any animal, 
however well-bred, where the ilium is fractured, 
not interfering with the pelvis space, no trouble 
will result. The ilium, or hook bone, as it is bet- 
ter known, gives its name to the region it occupies. 
It is the largest of the three bones, as well as 
that bone which is most elevated. Its external 
or superior face, or dorsum, is marked by some muscu- 
lar imprints, and is curved in its parts to form a concave 
space, the external iliac fossa which lodges the gluteal 
muscles. The internal or inferior face, or venter, offers 
a smooth external portion ; the iliac surface into 
which is implanted the iliac fossa or iliacus muscle; 
and the internal diarthrodial surface, most apparent 
from behind. The articular facet for articulation with 
the sacrum. Figure 4 shows a fracture at the ilium, 
outer edge, at H in the illustration, which has been in- 
jured by contact with the side of the door post and frac- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 1 1 

tured at the part where the bone has the least protection 
and is driven into the space against the rectum at I, inter- 
fering- with the act of parturition. This specimen is that 
of a year old heifer which I advised for beef instead of 
keeping in the herd for breeding purposes. I think I 
have never seen a more successful case than when I 
spayed several heifers. One of them had the hook 
bone knocked in. She made beef at the rate of one and 
three-fourths pounds a day from the time she was 
spayed. She was weighed by the owners one week 
after, and her weight at that time was not included. 
Some weeks they averaged two pounds, and others 
again one and one-half per day. They were sold in 
Cleveland for beef and gave a fair return to the owner 
and good result to the butcher. The author had the 
honor of an invitation to a banquet where the beef Avas 
served in fine style. Every one of the twenty gentlemen 
present gave it as their opinion that spaying will some 
day become a necessity in order to attain the highest 
price for the sweetest and finest quality of beef. It is to 
the butcher as the capon is to the poulterer. Beef at 
twenty-five and one-fourth cents per pound, easy fed, 
gives the best return, and most satisfaction to feeder, 
seller, and consumer. 



CHAPTER III. 



Bones of the Tail of the Mare and Vaginal Cavity. 
As the coccygeal bones of the tail of our domestic 
animals are so seldom referred to, either in health or 
disease, it will not be out of place to give the following 



12 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

remarks a prominent place here. The bones of the tail 
of the mare in number are from fifteen to eighteen, im- 
mediately behmd the sacrum, the first three of which 
ought properly to belong, to the pelvis, as they form 
the base of the tail. They are small, cylindrical, or 
irregularly prismatic pieces, and there are several dis- 
eases that take place by accident, and are otherwise 
caused by injury, which will be more fully described 
later in this work. The difference again between the cow 
and mare is this, that the coccygeal bones are stronger 
and more tuberous ; they are from sixteen to twenty in 
number. The pelvis of the cow is, therefore, more de- 
veloped than that of the mare, and has more extensive 
bony walls. My object is to show that the form and 
direction has a notable influence in the mechanism of 
parturition. As I have before stated, the pelvis of 
the ewe greatly resembles that of the cow, the differ- 
ence being that the pelvis of the ewe is more horizontal 
and straight. 

The pelvis ot the pig resembles that of the mare. 
The crest of the ilium is convex, the pubis is narrow, 
and the ischium, instead of a crest, has a tuberous 
prominence. The sacrum is formed of four vertebrae, 
which are not consolidated for a longtime, and we have 
sometimes a difficulty to discover where it ends and 
the coccyx begins. The spinous processes are absent, 
and the neural arch being deficient on each side, the 
spinal canal is open above. At this particular part the 
sciatic nerve is pn)minent, which accounts for paralysis 
of the hind legs taking place after parturition as in 
cases of milk fever or excessive straining. The sciatic 
nerves, placed, as it were, in close proximity to any 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 1 3 

pressure in the pelvic circle, are acted on by the action 
of the foetal life, and cause cramps to pregnant animals 
towards their time of parturition. In the operation of 
parturition I will refer to this particular point so as to 
define clearly the relief of severe pains during the 
process. 

The cavity of the pelvis is the space between the 
inlet and outlet. In the human species it lodges nearly 
the whole of the uterus, and in the early days of preg- 
nancy the foetus also. This is not the case with the 
domestic animals, owing to the difference in attitude, 
until the act of parturition carries the progeny there. 
With its two openings the pelvic cavity is capable of 
more or less increase in capacity in different directions, 
through relaxation of the pubis and sacro-iliac articu- 
lations, and sacro-sciatic ligaments. The yielding of 
the latter is very noticeable in the larger animals, im- 
mediately belore parturition, as well as the elevation of 
the coccyx by the body of the foetus in its passage out- 
ward. It is also a fact that the pelvis widens perma- 
nently in aged animals that have had young frequently 
in progression, and is due to persistent relaxation in 
the articulations above described. When assistance is 
required, always bear upon the lower part of the pelvis, 
as by drawing straight the difficulty becomes more com- 
plex and serious, first, by pressure on the upper part 
of the ilium, causing unnecessary pain to the dam, and 
second, running a risk of injury to the back of the 
young, whereby numerous inquiries are received for 
reply to the effect of paralysis to the back, the colt 
or calf not being able to stand up for the first week 



14 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

after birth. The ischium, immediately above the obtu- 
rator foramen, rises abruptly to almost a right angle ; 
this is the narrowest part of the canal, and here it is 
that the foetus is obstructed in small females which have 
been impregnated by larger animals than their own 
breed. We find that the small-boned, narrow-ribbed 
Texas is not a suitable mare to be bred to a large Clyde 
or Percheron. Good judgment is required in the breed- 
ing and the management, so as to be a success. We 
want well sprung, round ribs, and wide hook-bones as 
a matter of safety in parturition. 

The subject of pelvimetry is of great importance 
to the stock-breeder, because, by understanding the 
structural development, he is able to see the propri- 
ety of acting according to circumstances in the case, 
as the less value of animal life leads the operator, when 
in difficulties, to sacrifice the colt or calf rather than en- 
danger the life of the mother. All appliances and in- 
struments will be illustrated in this work in the proper 
place as we go on. 

Professor Chauveau, in his measurement of the 
mare's pelvis : ^T do not see it at all necessary in this 
work to enter into detail, as among our largest, as well 
as the smallest of our domestic animals, there is so wide 
a difference. I have seen a broad set, low leg mare 
throw a large colt, and a cow the same. When full 
grown the mother was quite dwarfed, when standing 
side by side, so any further loss of space need not be 
taken to illustrate that part any further than to state 
that the shape of the mare is not fully developed till 
she has brought forth young." 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 5 



CHAPTER IV. 



(EsTRUM Evolution, or the Season of Heat. 

In some breeds of cattle we find the season of evo- 
lution appears earlier than others. The small breeds are 
the only class that seem to produce this offspring with 
in the year. Among those of that description that have 
shown themselves productive at so early a stage in life 
are the Shetland, Skye, Jersey, Alderney, Stark, and Jer- 
sey, although, as a rule, the larger breeds are not so 
susceptible to evolution. I am not an advocate for pre- 
mature breeding, as the rule holds good that with a small, 
weak dam to begin with, weak offspring is often the re- 
sult. It is always best to breed from mature animals, 
say the heifer to be always one year old before concep- 
tion, so that she may be one year and nine months old 
when she has her first calf. And if a good habit is to 
be formed by early maturit}^ then I consider that is 
early enough. When the heifer comes in heat see that 
she is kept from the rest of the stock in order to avoid the 
many evils that often happen by a heavy animal inter- 
fering with her, where several animals have been ruined 
for life by having their backs or hind parts sprained. 
The proper way is to remove the young heifer to a 
quiet place for a few hours, till she is cool. Then served 
quietly, returning again, and keeping her quiet for 
at least ten hours before allowing her to go with the 



l6 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

rest of the herd, as if she be returned to the herd be- 
fore the evolution is cooled off, by her jumping other 
cattle and creating a secondary excitement, she will cast 
the semen, and she is then in a precarious state to con- 
ceive again. Then the art of the empyric is called in 
to fool the owner by acting the juggler, by opening the 
womb. What a power of sound reasoning is against 
such abnormal practice ! I do not intend to devote a 
single line in this work to show up the fallacy of argu- 
ment against it, as any reasoning stock-owner can see 
the folly of it. Always serve a mare or cow on an 
empty stomach ; it is natural practice with all animals, 
either wild or domestic. No animal can settle to eat 
till nature is satisfied. Therefore, they must have an 
empty stomach. A wild animal will go into retirement 
after conception, and a domestic animal the same if 
they have the same facility. 

Keeping a heifer light of food for ten hours after 
conception is all in her favor. In eighteen days she 
ought to be looked after. Should there be any signs 
of annoyance from any of her associates, have her re- 
moved so as to prevent any trouble. If the bull is all 
the time with the stock at pasture, then he will attend 
to her and keep the cows from interfering. The heifer 
now being with calf, a change has become visible. 
She becomes more quiet, seems to rest more quiet, 
either in pasture or in the barn, and lies more, and seems 
to spend more of her time ruminating. The mesenteric 
glands begin to swell, the milk veins fill up, her udder 
begins to swell, and the teats to elongate. When within 
three months of her time the udder will have under- 
gone a decided change, as it will have taken on an in- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 1 7 

flamrnatory appearance. Some days it will appear as 
if it was creating great suffering, while the whole sys- 
tem is undergoing a peculiar change, preparatory to 
parturition. Again, at another time, she looks as if 
she had forgotten the promise and gone back against 
production. The sure symptom is when the pelvis bones 
give way, when she must be watched as in all cases of 
parturition. Whenever the feet are seen making their 
appearance through the placenta in the vagina, the 
sooner assistance is rendered the better, as the less 
strainmg, the less exhaustion, and more strength is 
saved ; and last, but not least, less suffering. It is sel- 
dom that there is need for more than one person if 
properly attended to. Should the heifer be lying, see 
that everything is clean. Go quietly up to her, break 
or burst the placenta or water bag ; then seize the feet 
of the calf with both hands, then take a piece of cloth 

in each hand, and take hold of the feet, drawing slowly 
towards the udder. Whenever the heifer assists by 

straining, see that you are making progress. If you 

find that you are not making progress toward delivery, 

now is the time to call for an assistant. If she 

should rise to her feet, place a bunch of straw behind 

her, so that the calf may not be injured when on 

to the ground. Draw the fingers through the calf's 

mouth, so that there may be no interference to prevent 

breathing. If the calf is to be suckled, then be very 

careful in placing the young thing before the heifer. A 

very good plan is to sprinkle a little oatmeal or bran 

with salt over the calf before giving to the dam, so she 

will lick it clean and dry. Milk the cow clean in every 

case, and if the heifer has been tied by the head, as is 



1 8 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

the best way, assist the calf when it begins to walk, to 
suck, and if the heifer is turned into a box stall for a 
day or two, where she can have liberty to admire and 
lick her offspring, she may be turned to pasture if in 
season, and the pasture dry. But do not turn out a new- 
calved cow on wet grass. Let her remain two hours 
the first day, and longer every day after if she is doing 
well. One thing, above all others, must be attended to, 
that is, to see that the bag is milked clean several times 
a day ; as if left entirel}^ to the calf, there is often more 
than the young thing can take, and the result is often 
garget or inflammation of the udder. The reason why 
I so earnestly charge my readers on this point is, that 
sometimes the calf will suck the teats of one side clean, 
while he will not suck the teats on the other side, and 
one or other of the quarters becomes the prey to udder 
clapp or garget. When the teat is drawn, it will only 
yield curdled milk, or worse, a kind of slimy scum. 
[See Treatment of Garget.] If the calf has to be taken 
away from the dam, she will require to be milked not 
less than three times a day, as has been her wont, and 
see that her udder is at all times kept in a healthy con- 
dition. 



CHAPTER V. 



Generation and Conception. 

In entering upon the field of generation and con- 
ception, and illustrating the generative organs of the 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. I9 

mare, I know that I hold views quite contrary to some 
of those supposed to be understood by breeders and 
stock-owners generally, but as proof of the cor- 
rectness of the same I shall make every point plain, 
and show the fallacy of opening the neck of the uterus 
in preparation for the reception of the male. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Generative Organs of the Mare. 

The genital organs of the female are much more 
complicated than those of the male from the far 
greater share they take in the process of generation. 
They are usually described according to their situation, 
as external or internal, or from their function as copu- 
lative and formative. 

Proceeding from the exterior to the interior these 
organs may be enumerated as follows : The vulva, and 
mamma or mammary glands, the vagina, uterus, fallo- 
pian tubes, and ovaries. We will describe these in the 
above mentioned order, taking the mare again as the 
type, and indicating the difference in the other domes- 
tic animals. 

PART I — THE VULVA. 

The external orifice of the generative organs, the 
vulva, appears as a vertically elongated slit, situated 
beneath the anus, between the perineum and ischial 



20 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

arch, and the posterior margin of the two hind quarters. 
It presents two thick lips or labia, and two commis- 
sures, externally; and internally it forms a cavity, which 
is confounded with that of the vagina, and extends be- 
yond the meatus urinarius. The limit between the 
vulva and vagina is not perceptible in the adult, but is 
always conspicuous in the foetus. The labia vulvas or 
lips are usually in contact with the rimse vulvae, al- 
though they vary in size, according to age and con- 
dition. They are slightly prominent and thick, being 
composed of fine, smooth, flexible, and elastic tissue, 
which is covered with fine, smooth, unctuous skin, desti- 
tute of hair, but rich in pigment in the majority of ani- 
mals. Internally, they are covered with mucous mem- 
brane, a continuation of that lining the vagina, and 
which is constantly lubricated by a greasy mucus, pos- 
sessing a special odor, according to the species of the 
animal ; on the free border of the vulva this membrane 
and skin meet. 

PART II. 

At the junction of the labia above and below are 
the commissures, due to this junction. The superior 
commissure is situated close to the anus, from which it 
is only separated by a narrow space, the perineum. The 
cavity of the vulva sometimes contains the hymen, 
which separates it from the vagina at a certain period 
of life; it also contains the meatus urinarius, and its 
valve, as well as the clitoris. I now leave what I might 
add, an amount of other explanation, which, I think, is 
unnecessary in this case. Suffice it to say, that there 
are no labia in the lower animals. The posterior con- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 21 

stricter of the vulva is very powerful in acting during- 
copulation ; it contracts the vagina and compresses 
the penis, by reason of its attachment to the clitoris, etc. 

PART III. 

It is at this point, for reasons I may give, that I de- 
cline to explain further, but object very seriously to the 
principle of some breeders performing artificial amor- 
osity while, if the animal is affected with the heat, or 
symptoms of evolution, there is no need of interfering 
with nature. Conception is impeded, and even abor- 
tion is aggravated by such wanton interference. 

PART IV. 

The clitoris is more especially the seat of vene- 
real excitation during coition. It is present in all do- 
mestic female animals, and is always erected while they 
are in heat, as well as in the act of copulation. The 
clitoris is abundantly supplied with nerves, which en- 
dow it with most acute sensibility, and the mucous 
membrane enveloping it is usually dark colored or mar- 
bled, though in white mares and horses it is, or may be, 
colorless. The meatus urinarius is the orifice of the 
urethra, which is a very short canal in the female. This 
canal passes immediately beneath the anterior sphincter 
muscle of the vulva, and after a brief course (about two 
inches) in the textures composing the floor of the vagina 
opens into the vulvar cavity at from four to six inches 
from its exterior. This opening, which is the floor of 
the cavity, is covered by a wide duplicature of the 
lining membrane that acts as and is designated, the 
valve of the meatus or vaginal (valvula vaginas). Its 



22 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

free border is turned backwards, and it would thus ap- 
pear to direct the urine toward the external opening of 
the vulva, and prevent its reflex into the vagina. We 
have several French and German authors that consider 
that this valve is more extensive when the vagina is 
narrow, and is more prominent when the female is 
young. Author Brugone was of opinion that it was 
attached to the upper surface of the vagina by a small 
cord, and that it was the rupture of this by the forced 
entrance of the penis which caused the slight flow of 
blood from the vulva observed in mares put to the 
horse for the first time. This is, without doubt, the 
hymen to which he refers — a membrane found in the 
filly, though not in the mare, or at least seldom, but 
which, when present, separates the vulvar from the 
vaginal cavity. This membrane forms a circular par- 
tition fixed by its circumference to the vulvo-vaginal 
walls along with the valve of the meatus, and is perfor- 
ated by one or more openings, which are sometimes 
very small. 

PART V. 

Not infrequently old brood mares show in this situ- 
ation pediculated appendices, which are the debris of 
the mucous diaphragm. The urethral orifice of the mare 
is wider than that of the horse, and it will readily admit a 
much larger catheter. In passing that instrument it is 
well to remember that the urethral canal curves forward 
and downward, and that the valve must be raised either 
with the instrument or the point of the fore finger be- 
fore the passage can be entered. I speak more plainly 
of this part of veterinary education, as I have come in 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 23 

contact with several veterinarians that could not draw 
the water from the horse, either because they had not 
the proper instrument, or did not know how to use it, 
while the horse suffered most severe pain for over two 
hours till I relieved him. After he was relieved he 
shook himself like a dog that had been wet by swim- 
ming in the water. I will here give a point that is gen- 
erally unknown to horse-breeders. It is this. The 
labia usually exhibit as many wrinkles or folds as the 
mare has had colts. That was delineated in cases of 
post-mortem. Durmg the oestrum, or especially to- 
ward the termination of pregnancy, the labia become 
tumefied and soft, the interior commissure descends, 
the vulvar opening is enlarged, and from it is dis- 
charged a quantity of tenacious, stringy mucus. 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Cow in Health and Disease. 

Second in importance to no other animals is the cow 
to the farmer. On that account the farmer or stock 
breeder ought to be fully educated as to her treatment 
in health and disease. For that object is this work pub- 
lished, so that every breeder may have at command a 
work that describes the cow in health and disease. 
How many hundred animals are lost every year for 
the want of skill and information to treat intelligently 



24 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

injuries, accidents, and disease, that could be saved if the 
breeders only knew how to proceed. "A stitch in time" 
is valuable advice to follow. Therefore the main object 
of this work is to fill a long-felt want in the library of 
breeders and stock raisers. The proper mode of feeding 
cows varies accordmg to circumstance. The prairie 
cow is more the animal in a natural state than this 
work will dwell upon, dealing strictly with the cow 
in a domestic state. Care and proper feeding is the 
first point to be considered in order to make her what 
she is designed to be, a source of profit to the owner 
both as regards her produce as a stock producer, and 
her value as her milking, cream, butter, and flesh pro- 
duction. If kept for the dairy, the produce of \vhich 
is sold in the city, quality as well as quantity ought to 
be a criterion in her treatment and feeding. If kept for 
private family use, quantity is not so much an object 
as quality. If kept for butter production, quantity 
and quality must be considered, especially where 
calf-raising is made a principle with feeding skim 
milk or whey. Feeding cows for the cheese factory 
require more attention to make a success than is 
usually given them, grain fed with grass will pay 
better than grass fed alone, and as I proceed with this 
work I shall mention as the case may require, the best 
known results as shown by various experiments for the 
production of the highest standard of rich producing 
milk. As I have remarked in my preface, I shall not 
enter into detail as to the origin or breed of cattle, but 
keep strictly to the text as defined in regard to every 
day treatment. Beginning with the calf and his man- 
agement, I shall give my experience in raising for beef, 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 2$ 

by feeding both cow and calf at the same time. If the 
calf is allowed to suckle, attention must be given the 
cow that the bag is kept free of milk' for the first two 
weeks, and the surplus milk that the calf is not able to 
consume carefully and cleanly drawn off in order to 
prevent garget or inflammation of the udder. Should 
the milk become clotted great care will be required to be 
taken by frequent fomentations of warm soap suds, and at 
the same time drawingthe teats as you rub and foment the 
bag. No liniment can be used externally on the udder, 
as it will be sure to nauseate the calf, and although you 
draw as it were every drop of milk, as you suppose, 
from the cow, she will let down her milk to the 
calf when she will not give it by hand. Another point 
is to keep cow and calf in a dry, warm atmosphere 
with good ventilation, and room enough to let the 
youth have play and exercise, as is his wont. The food 
after the first three weeks ought to be of the most nu- 
tritious kind. In this country, where oil or rape cake is 
not popular as feeding stuffs, three parts of ground oats 
to one of corn, as mixture with bran, is the most whole- 
some of all foods, both for young and mature stock, pro- 
ducing the finest flavored and richest milk, not having 
the oily flavor of oil cake, nor the sharp smell or 
mustard flavor of rape cake. Oats, corn, hay, or grass is 
the best both for quality ot milk to feed the suckling, 
producing the beef in either the one or the other. 
In cities where swill feed or brewers* grains are to 
be had, the milk is of the poorest kind, being ninety- 
eight per cent, of water. The milk in a great many 
cases becomes putrid in five or six hours in warm 
weather after being taken from the cow. Heifers fed 



26 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

by suckling the cow, as a rule teed more kindly than 
bull calves, and make finer beef, but in cases differ 
in weight. It is a stock-breeders' motto never to lose 
the real beef, but let the calf have the privilege of feed- 
ing with the cow, as they will do fourteen days after 
birth. Care must at all times be taken not to let them 
want hay or corn stalks, as if they are fed on barley or 
wheat straw they are apt to become constipated, and 
evil results may follow. Should the calf become con- 
stipated from any cause, take molasses, one-half pound; 
magnesia, one-half ounce; mix in gruel, give the calf warm 
once a day. But should the cow become constipated, 
take one pound of epsom salts; one pound of molasses ; 
one-half ounce of magnesia, in one quart of warm gruel ; 
drench the cow with it three times a week, if the bow- 
els do not respond at either the first or second time. 
The calf will in that case get the benefit of the medicine 
as well as the cow. Should the cow not cleanse prop- 
erly a cleansing drench is made up thus: Take epsom 
salts, one pound; jalap, one ounce; gentian, one dram; 
molasses, one pound; oat meal or oil meal gruel, one 
quart,' all well mixed, warm and given in one drench, with 
thin, warm, sloppy bran mash afterward, so as to relieve 
impaction of the third stomach, as is often the case 
when fed on dry food. Again, it is often the case 
when cattle are stalled in boxes, that unless they are 
well bedded and kept clean they will become affected 
with foul feet, and often lose flesh till the evil is no- 
ticed. The most effective remedy known is Stuart's 
Healine. It will commence the healing process 
the moment it is applied. Directions on every box. 
.The various cjiseases attendant on parturition and calf- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 27 

hood will be taken up and plainly discussed as the work 
progresses. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Breeding. 

As I have already stated, I do not intend to enter 
into detail as to any particular breed, but treat the cow 
as a purely domestic animal, fully under the control of 
man, not even getting a drink of water by her own free 
will. A single cow in the stable, kept for family use, 
and not for breeding, but to supply the family with the 
best quality of milk, is not the best to breed from, be- 
cause she is very often too fat, from pampering, confine- 
ment, and the want of exercise. When she has a calf 
it is very often small and puny. Where a cow is kept 
in confinement, and fed hay and mash, she is better not 
to be bred, as the milk is just as rich, and as the cow 
undergoes no excitement, the supply is more regular, 
even after she has had no calf for two years. But the 
dairyman that wants milk during the summer, for the 
cheese factory, requires every cow to have a calf, so as 
to give a full supply of milk during the cheese and but- 
ter-making season, and in the fall, when the factory is 
closed, he has no further use for milk, and lets his cows 
go dry; while in the city, the more milk that the dairy- 
man can make (quality no object, only quantity), swill- 



28 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

feeding being the principal study, cows are not kept for 
breeding, as they are milked as long as they will pay 
and then sold for beef. Where breeding is strictly 
the object, the best class of pedigree stock should be 
be kept, and all is changed. The cow does not, in some 
cases, have her calf taken from her, but is allowed to 
suckle it till it has become nearl}^ as large as the dam. 
Great care is required during the first few days of calf- 
hood, both for the cow and calf. In ever}" case, the 
calf for the first two or three days is not able to con- 
sume the whole of the cow's milk, and if the udder is 
extended in consequence, inflammation will set m, gar- 
get takes place, and the cow is ruined as a good dam 
afterwards. Whatever opinion to the contrary stock- 
owners may have, it is safe to milk the cow clean after 
the calf has had all it can take, for a few days at first. 
The flow of milk, as it were, will become adapted to 
the wants of the calf. It would seem as if nature adapts 
itself to this case as well as to that of the dairy cow 
that is milked clean three times a day, and fed accord- 
ingly. Cows that have been kept only to supply their 
own offspring are not the cows to keep for dairy pur- 
poses afterwards, as the lacteals, never having been 
developed, are insufficient to produce a paying quan- 
tity of milk, however well fed. If the cow and calf are 
kept in a box stall till the calf is two or three months 
old, and then turned out to pasture, the greatest care 
must be taken to prevent the cow from becoming over- 
heated, as the calf will be sure to run, and the cow will 
often join in his play, frequently causing injur}", either 
by running against some fence or stump, or the milk 
being overheated in the cow; trouble has often resulted 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 29 

that has blighted all our hopes and brought disappoint- 
ment and discouragement to the owner. Whenever the 
milk is overheated the calf suffers from gripes, or it 
results in white rush, scouring so as to reduce the sys- 
tem, and being unable to take the supply of milk that 
is secreted, the milk will become curdled, and the calf 
will refuse to suck any teat that becomes affected ; then 
the cow suffers at the same time. It often happens 
that when a calf sucks, the cow, if in high condition, 
will come in heat the first six weeks. But I never 
approve of an early service, as it is rare that she con- 
ceives, and if she does, an abortion is almost sure to 
follow. Three months is about the natural period, and 
the most satisfactory to follow as a principle. 

The evils of inbreeding ought to be scrupulously 
avoided, as it leads to degeneracy of any particular 
breed. It is the opinion of some breeders that inbreed- 
ing may be accomplished with success, but it is against 
the law of nature in a domestic point of view. Although 
the animals are perfect in health and development, de- 
generation will most assuredly follow if persevered in. 
A change of male in the herd every two years may be 
beneficial. A breeder of stock always has a purpose in 
view. If breeding for the dairy, he selects a male from 
a known good milk strain. If for butter, the same. If 
for beef, the same principle must be pursued to be a 
success. As is the case in Scotland and England, a two 
or three-year-old heifer is selected, in calf, and cow 
and calf are reared and fed all they can eat after the 
first month. The calf never loses the veal till it is 
ready for the butcher, when the high price that the 
calf beef attained is a great inducement for a farmer. 



30 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

where neither milk nor butter is a criterion. That prin- 
ciple of feeding gave the best results, as the outlay was 
only the heifer to begin with. It paid at a greater per- 
centage than if two store cattle were bought, and in 
most cases is more satisfactory. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Gestation. 

Gestation, or pregnancy, comprises the period the 
female carries its young while undergoing develop- 
ment. The consideration of this period is of much im- 
portance to the stock-breeders, and we will describe it 
from its normal, physiological point of view, pointing 
out more fully the anatomical and functional alterations 
attending it, the mode of recognizing it, its duration in 
various species of animals, modifications in the uterus 
during pregnancy, with the development of the foetus. 
The uterus undergoes important changes, while the 
system of the mother also participates more or less in 
the phenomena which mark the period of gestation. 
The changes of the uterus are those that relate to its 
volume, structure, form, situation, and direction. Our 
investigations with regard to volume have shown us 
that immediately after conception the uterus has be- 
come congested, and a close examination of its internal 
surface will reveal the truth. The lymphatics are like- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 3 1 

wise augmented in number and dimensions, and the 
nerves that are comparatively small in unimpregnated 
animals, become enlarged, and form a sort of net-work 
similar to that of the vessels. The cornua, which is 
always conspicuous because of its firmness and density, 
can easily be detected by the operator while spaying 
the female. But during pregnancy this density is greatly 
diminished because it becomes softer. The horn of the 
uterus, as we call it, becomes a mass of mucous mter- 
nally, which is slowly discharged in small quantities for 
nine days after the removal of the placenta. Ancient 
and modern writers have not discovered anything new 
from structural changes in the uterus. The cotyledons 
are the same to-day, after conception, as they were in 
the days of Pliny, or even Aristotle — forty cotyledons 
before conception, and three times that number after 
conception. 



CHAPTER X. 



Comfort of Cows in Barn and Field. 

Cleanliness, it is said, is next to godliness. Where 
care and cleanliness are practiced a good reward is al- 
ways sure. As a general rule, we find in most barns no 
particular provision made for the comfort of the cows, 
no space between the side of the barn and hind part of 
the cow, and when the cows are in the barn duriuir the 



32 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

winter, their hind feet stand all the time in manure and 
soaked in urine, in anything but a comfortable con- 
dition for the attendant or cow herself. Foul feet is 
often the result, and when being milked, should she lift 
her foot, a portion of the adhesive substance is often a 
very unwelcome accompaniment to the flavor and qual- 
ity of the lacteal fluid, while it often happens that 
she receives a word of caution, not appropriate in the 
Sunday-school, or rude punishment, or both. Again,, 
some have them packed too closely, as we generally find 
where they are confined in stanchions. Of course, 
every farm barn is not large enough to have each in a 
box stall, but in a great many cases they are better 
standing wider than two and one-half feet apart. When 
two cows are lying down we see that the one standing 
between them has no room to lie down, and has to 
stand or crush herself between the two, and when 
heavy in calf, often doing injur}^, causing abortion, or 
treading on the udder of the one next her. When a 
byre is over-crowded, it becomes over-heated, and 
when the cows are continually standing in a warm, 
confined air their lungs become tender or enfee- 
bled, so that if by any mistake they are exposed to 
a sudden change of atmosphere they become the 
easy prey of bronchial disease. Every cow ought 
to be so secured as to have the pleasure of licking 
herself on both sides while in the b3^re, and all feed 
ought to be contained in a receptacle below the level 
of the knee-joint, as if a cow should choke, her head 
being down, she has the power to cough it out, as when 
some cows are feeding they roll the bite in their mouth 
before they swallow it. The only objection to too much 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 33 

room in the dairy is that one cow will gore her mate or 
stand with her hind-quarters up against another and 
drop her manure where the next has to lie down, there- 
by causing every cow to carry a quantity of filth around 
till the rains wash it off. Every cow, either in the 
barn or field, ought to be curried or brushed every day, 
the udder washed and dried before milking, their feet 
cleaned so as to remove any dirt or gravel from be- 
tween the digits, as a preventive against the inroad of 
foul feet into the herd. When cows have been confined 
in the byre during the winter, we find their hind feet 
have grown to long points. By taking a sharp chisel 
and mallet, and cutting off the long points, the cow is 
enabled to walk better when turned to pasture. Bulls 
are worse than cows, as they are generally confined all 
the time. \ barn so constructed, with two feet of space 
behind the cow, is anything but convenient when a cow 
requires assistance at the time of parturition. This 
point will be explained further on. It is impossible for 
the attendants to keep the milk clean where he has to 
crowd between the hind part of the cow and the wall 
of the barn. Cows that stand a long time in the barn 
without bedding are often the subjects of swelled knees, 
and when turned out seem as if they were suffering 
from rheumatism, as they are stiff and sore forward, 
and in some cases have the hair and skin rubbed off on 
the under part of the breast. A common custom is to 
fork the hay from the mow over the heads of the cat- 
tle, where the improved principle of feeding is not 
practiced, and cattle often get dust or hayseed into 
their eyes, suffering severe annoyance and pain un- 
known to the attendant. 



34 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

In the month of April or May, when stock-owners 
are preparing their cattle for summer pasture, two 
hours are quite sufficient time to let them remain on 
pasture, as if they get too much young, luxuriant grass, 
they are often the subjects of hoove ; and again, when 
suddenly turned from dry hay to grass, they begin 
scouring to such an extent that the condition at- 
tained in the barn is lost before they recover. Should 
a sudden shower of rain come on when the cattle are 
first turned out, no time should be lost to get them into 
the byre, as evil results often occur, especially the first 
week. After a warm shower, when the grass has got 
through the cattle, there is no danger. At this season 
every cow ought to be salted every other day, and every 
cow that has been turned out fresh ought to be care- 
fully watched, so that, when lying on the cold ground, 
she does not become the subject of garget. It is good 
practice to have every cow examined every night to see 
if any one in the herd has been gored, and immediate 
steps taken to relieve the pain and injury at once. 
Young calves that have been lately weaned are often 
very troublesome if in the same pasture with the cows, 
either by sucking the cows, or getting gored by being 
forward in amusing themselves with other cattle. A 
sudden change of temperature will bring on chills, 
which are very deadly to calf hood. All weeds in the 
pasture of milking stock ought to be cut and cleaned 
off, as calves are apt to eat them and get poisoned ; and 
the cows themselves, that ought to know better, will 
amuse themselves by chewing bitter and poisonous 
weeds, whereby the milk is made bitter, and they some- 
limes suffer the penalty of poisoning, as well as the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 35 

calves. It is passing strange that some cattle will chew 
a bone, a piece of rag, old shoe, old harness, chips of 
wood, besides various other substances. An instance 
or two from my own experience might be useful. I 
was called to see two cows that had become sick ; could 
not eat ; gave no milk. One was a heifer, fresh only 
three weeks ; the other her dam, two months calved. 1 
found them in a high fever, greatly excited, suffering 
from thirst, nose dry, frothing at the mouth, horns hot ; 
pulse at radial vein excited. On inquiring where they 
had been, I was told that they were at pasture close bj , 
and had the best young, clean pasture that could be 
furnished, as it was clover and mixed grasses, and there 
could be nothing in it to injure them. The owners 
were among the most respected families in the neigh- 
borhood, and no one was ever known to have any 
grudge against them. I diagnosed the case as one 
of poison. I was met with the prompt. English- 
like reply : '' You are wrong, doctor ; you are wrong. 
It cannot be, as there is nothing here to do the cow 
hurt." I told them they might think so, but I was 
confident, and I wanted to have an examination before 
I gave either water or medicine to one of them. I 
found the pasture a small enclosure, with fine white and 
red clover, and a mixture of grasses. On one side was 
a high fence and houses, with their back yards close to 
the pasture, and here and there the usual ornaments of 
empty tin cans, pieces of crockery, etc. Among other 
things, we found that the people in one of the houses 
had thrown over the fence a quantity of salt beef that 
had been in strong brine, and had not been keeping 
well. The shoulder cuts were licked and gnawed, and 



36 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

dragged here and there, and the ground around the 
spot trod with the feet of the cows, showing that they 
had had a good time enjoying their salt beef. There 
was no need of further investigation. Treatment was 
the next step to be taken. I knew that I would not 
have impaction to deal with, but the sooner relief was 
given the better. I gave each 4 oz. of carbonate of 
soda and cream of tartar, mixed in two quarts of cold 
water, every two hours, and no iood till I called again. 
I called at 6 p. m. and found both much easier, not so 
excited. The worst patient I had to deal with was the 
attendant, who had been over the pasture making a 
funeral of the beef, with not a tear shed, but raving 
mad, not in a good mood to receive directions to save 
the lives of the cows. We gave both good warm gruel 
of oatmeal and oilmeal, half a r-ailful each, milked what 
we could get from the cows, and left for the night, giv- 
ing them no further thought. The next morning the 
cows passed pieces of salt meat and blood, most revolt- 
ing to look at. I ordered the gruel three times that 
day, and an hour at pasture. The cows got well, but I 
ordered the milk to be given to the hogs for one week, 
as the heifer gave bloody milk for a few days. 

Another case that came under my observation was 
that of cows pastured in a lot \vhere horses were turned 
in at night only. One of the co^vs ate up all the horse- 
manure she could get. I was consulted as to the case. 
I inquired the history of the cow. She was bought 
from a dairy where she had been fed with mill stuff, 
and getting nothing but grass, hankered after a change. 

One more and I am done. I was called to a case 
where I found the young cow gaping and frothing at 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 37 

the mouth, with her head stretched out rigid as a log. 
I saw that she was choked. I stripped, got my hand 
into her throat, and with great difficulty drew out a 
large piece of shoe sole that she had chewed and at- 
tempted to swallow. 

I impute every instance above related to the want 
of salt. If cattle, either milking or feeding for "oeef, 
were to have a quart of bran and enough salt while in 
pasture, every other night, better results would be 
secured than to lay the salt down on the pasture once 
a week as is often done, and ke^p each cow visiting the 
spot, craving for a tonic to strengthen their appetite 
and tone up their stomach. 

Before I conclude this chapter T wish to impress 
upon the mind of every reader that nitrate of potassa or 
saltpetre is not a medicinal agent, whereby fever or ex- 
citement can be allayed in living tissue ; therefore, it 
ought never to be used, unless you want to prolong a 
case and assist the disease to kill the animal. 

Cows calving on the pasture will be treated of on 
another page. Prairie cattle, or cattle in a wild state, 
require different treatment Irom domestic animals, and 
as it will not add any to the value of this work, we shall 
not treat of them further than the observations that 
may be brought out in the different chapters treat- 
ing on disease. When a cow is seen to be in heat while 
at pasture, she ought to be put in the barn as a safe- 
guard against injury to herself and others. 



38 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Signs of Pregnancy and Parturition. 

Eight weeks after service an expert will be able to 
tell whether the cow is in calf or not. While very often 
a cow will come in heat regularly during the period of 
gestation, at an early age of foetal life the only sure way 
to know is by the stethoscope applied to the right side 
of the abdomen, and often a slight discharge of mucus 
from the vagina. When six months have gone give the 
cow a salt mash at night, and the first thing in the morn- 
ing give her a drink of cold water, stand behind her, and 
if you see a slight movement on the right side, it is caused 
by the foetus. Another point is this, it is. said that a bull 
calf lies more to the right side of the cow than to the left, 
and a heifer calf more to the left, but that, as a rule, does 
not hold good, as I have seen it different, even when in 
twins more to the right than to the left. No cow goes an 
exact time. Sometimes a cow will go three days over her 
nine months, and the next calf she may go fourteen days 
over. There is no accounting for it, either. A heifer, 
with her first calf, will show signs of parturition by an 
inflamed, extended udder, four weeks before she is due, 
but there is always one sign that never fails, that is, the 
bones of the pelvis do not begin to slip till from forty- 
eight to twenty-four hours before parturition, and an 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 39 

attendant at all acquainted with the case can tell to a 
few hours before calving. In every case when the 
bones give way, ten hours after you may be on the 
watch to assist nature, as it is always best to save the 
strength of the cow, as by straining herself weak, ag- 
gravating fever, and being unable to bring forth her off- 
spring, she will become the subject of parturient fever. 
In every case assist the cow every time, as the sooner the 
labor is accomplished, the sooner will the pains cease 
and strength be retained. At the moment of birth draw 
the hand through the calf's mouth, and it the cow is 
to suckle the calf, sprinkle bran or oatmeal all over the 
calf with a little salt ; lay it before the cow, when she 
will lick it dry, and be no further trouble. But the ud- 
der will require attention if the cow or heifer has not 
been forced in feeding previous. The calf may get the 
first, but it is safe to draw as much milk as is thought 
proper from the cow as a safeguard against milk fever. 
I do not approve of a cow sucking her calf for a week 
or so, and then taking the calf from her. Remove the 
calf at once, give it the first of the cow's milk, and 
whatever purpose the calf is to be turned to, to feed it 
accordingly. If hand-fed, the next chapter will explain 
our views on that subject. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Prol APSIS Uteri, or Inversion of the Uterus. 
It IS one ol the most alarming- and frio-htful scenes 
a dairyman or stock-breeder can see when entering the 
barn or stable to witness a case of prolapsis of the utc- 



40 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

rus. Although of rare occurrence, it can be very eas- 
ily returned, and the mare or cow get as well as ever. 
It will take place sometimes after service, as I have 
been called to attend a case recently, the history of 
which I may briefiy state. The mare was served at 
4 p. m. All went well till the next morning, when the 
groom got to the stall to feed her. He was surprised 
to find something serious had taken place, and what to 
do placed him in a state of consternation. He called 
in a neighbor, who quickly gave his opinion that what- 
ever it was, it would have to be cut away, and the mare 
would most assuredly get well. Their better judgment 
prevailed in reporting the case to the master, who did 
not generally get up till 8 a. m. Word was left for the 
owner that he was wanted in the stable, as something 
had happened to one of the horses during: the night. 
On his going and reaching the stable the sight com- 
pletely upset him, as such a circumstance he never 
knew or saw before, and his own words were : '' I have 
owned mares for twenty years, and never saw or heard 
of such a thing befalling any horse. He telephoned us 
to come at once, 8.30 a. m. We expected something 
unaccountable, as he had so much to say in his excite- 
ment that the phone of the instrument fairly vibrated as 
he tried to describe the case, and gave us to believe 
that we had a first-class operation to perform. We 
drove out, loaded down with instruments for the occa- 
sion. When we got there we found a case as described 
and his remark as stated. I admit I did laugh lat the 
supposed loss of his high-priced mare. He said that it 
would have to be cut clean off, and if it had to be done 
I was to do it. Every one s'eemed distressed about it, 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 4I 

but we did not trouble ourselves much about it. I sent 
the hired man to the kitchen for a pale of hot water 
and soda. In the meantime we were getting a few 
boards put in an open stall, raised ten inches behind, 
above the level of the fore feet. The mare had no sick- 
ness, but was a little excited, but I strapped up the fore 
legs so I could get the assistance of both in order to 
hold a cotton sheet on each side of the mare till I 
fomented the uterus and cotyledons clean ; then placing 
a sponge, saturated with the hot water, I lifted the ute- 
rus from below, pressing against the sheet till with a 
piece of warm water, cloth and oil, I returned the ute- 
rus into the place and spread it in such a natural po- 
sition that I had no further trouble. Keeping my hand 
and sponge in the uterus till the stall in which I intended 
to keep her was ready for the purpose I intended it, we 
walked her to the stall, and had her placed in position. 
After I had her raised ten inches behind, and she a lit- 
tle settled from her strange and unaccustomed position, 
I withdrew my hand, sheet and sponge, then doused 
her well with cold water, and gave her internally a 
good anodyne of opium, tincture of iron, and spirits 
of camphor. I returned in the afternoon and found 
that contraction had taken the vulva in a natural state, 
and she resting easy, but quite astonished at her new 
position. All went well for eight days. All her treat- 
ment was flax seed, a few scalded oats, and bran scalded, 
with very little hay. When I ordered the raised floor 
removed, and her out for a walk, her joy was unbound- 
ed, as she reared, skipped, and whined as if she had 
lost her colt. The stall was five feet wide, but we put 
up a trivage two and one-half feet wide, with the floor 



42 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

supported with heavy beams that we got handj', and 
raised ten inches behind, with a scantling wrapped with 
an old blanket to keep her from getting back and get- 
ting oE the raised floor, and at the same time prevent- 
ing her getting chafed. Some of our readers will ask 
what caused such an occurrence. After service she 
was put into a comfortable box stall Avith iron rails four 
feet from the floor on top of the sides, and the horse in 
the next stall had teased and annoyed her all night, 
which caused her to strain till she caused inversion. 
The moral in this case is to keep every mare after ser- 
vice away from any other horse, as quiet as possible 
after service. This is one other case where the horse 
is to blame, and gets a bad name through neglect and 
want of knowledge. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Sensibility of Pregxaxcy. 

Shortly after conception an increase of volume, 
weight, and capacity takes place, and the female often 
acquires a higher degree of sensibility, caused by the 
development of the nerves of the embryo, so that be- 
tween the cervix and cornua there is established an 
irritation caused by the swelling of the surrounding 
tissue and enlargement of the foetal germ that it often 
occurs that an animal — mare or cow — will evolute all 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 43 

the time as if in heat, and while the horse or bull may 
refuse to serve, little or no sign is seen externally to 
cause the breeder or owner to think anything else than 
that the male animal is at fault. If any horse or bull 
refuses to serve after a mare or cow has been served, it 
is indiscreet to attempt to force nature, as by doing so 
many a fine mare or cow has spent or aborted her 
foetus, and been rendered unfertile during the season, 
and resulted in a loss of the colt or calf she ought to 
have borne. 



CHAPTER XIV 



Situation of the Uterus at the Time of Conception and 

AFTER Conception. 

The uterus cannot change its form and volume 
without altering its situation. Before and until a cer- 
tain time after conception, the body of the uterus is 
contained in the pelvis, but as it and the foetus increase 
in size, the position changes, and this change causes an 
alteration in the situation of other organs. In the mare 
it gradually displaces the pelvis flexure of the colon, 
which is lodged in that cavity, and passes forward be- 
low that intestine toward and beyond the umbilicus, to 
rest on the floor of the abdomen, and in proximity to 
the diaphragm, stomach, and liver, towards the termi- 
nation of pregnancy. In its developmert it is situated 



44 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

chiefly in the middle line of the body, slightly inclining 
to the left, because of the large mass of the colon occu- 
pying the right flank. 

In ruminating animals the uterus pushes the rennet 
and caecum out of the pelvis, presses the mass of intes- 
tines to one side, and extends between the right sac of 
the rennet and the abdominal walls. The presence of 
the rennet m the left flank causes it to deviate some- 
what to the right. In multiparous animals, in which 
the young are placed end to end in the cornua, the lat- 
ter rest on each side of the floor of the abdomen, and 
curve upwards ; in the pig they incline somewhat to the 
right side, though in both each cornua lies above its 
corresponding mammary line. 



CHAPTER XV, 



Duration of Pregnancy. 

The usual period of gestation of the mare is eleven 
months, though there is a variation between weak and 
well, developed and strong animals. From observa- 
tions by authorities on that subject, out of one hundred 
mares the shortest period of gestation was two hundred 
and seven days, and the longest three hundred and 
ninety-four days, or a mean of duration of three hun- 
dred and forty-six days. In the Percheron breed of 
mares the time has been from three hundred and twenty- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 45 

four days to thiree hundred and sixty-seven days. It 
has been our privilege in practice to be called to a mare 
that went" in one case twelve days over a year. On ex- 
amination we found the foetus dead, and milk streaming 
from her teats. We pronounced the foetus dead for 
over one month at least, being told by^the attendant 
that the mare had shown signs of parturition several 
times. We never would have been called had the mare 
kept well, but she became sick, and the owner, being 
alarmed, had recourse to our services. We now call 
the particular attention of our readers to this case. On 
examination per vagina it was found that considerable 
torsion had taken place at the time when she showed 
signs of labor pains, and that must have been at or about 
six weeks previous to our visit, the foetus having been 
dead all that time. The mare, in her straining and 
struggling to expel the foetus, exhausted her strength 
and energy, whereby she became sick. We removed 
the dead and well developed foal, decomposition hav- 
ing taken place, and her uterus being involved by a 
series of hypertrophous envelopes. Emphysema had 
taken place all over the foetus, and in a short time it 
would have killed the dam. We have removed a dead, 
putrified foetus where it was so far gone that it was 
scarcely recognizable, and when the foetid smell was 
almost enough to kill not only the operator, but every 
animal in the stable. Here again we wish to draw the 
attention of our readers to an important matter. Never 
allow either mare or cow to show signs of parturition 
without assisting her at once. You are always safe in 
assisting her, as if you delay until she has strained and 
struggled till she is exhausted, death will be the result. 



46 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

The usual signs, if the mare is up to her time, appear 
twenty-four hours before parturition, when a brown, 
waxy matter will form on the end of her teats, even 
though the udder may be extended for one month pre- 
vious. If the colt be dead the milk will drop from the 
teats, and her sides, instead of being round, will become 
flat and fallen in with her hookbones projecting. With 
regard to the influence of breed on the duration of 
pregnancy, we have the researches of French, German, 
Persian, Arabs, Russians, and Enghsh. For Persian, 
the gestation period is from three hundred and forty- 
one days to three hundred and forty three da)^s for 
male foals, and three hundred and thirty-eight days for 
females; in thoroughbred Arab mares the average was 
three hundred and thirty-eight days to three hundred 
and thirty-nine for males, and three hundred and thirty- 
seven for females; Russian mares, from three hundred 
and forty-one and one-half to three hundred and forty- 
one for males, and three hundred and forty-two for 
females ; for English mares, three hundred and thirty- 
nine and one-half to three hundred and forty for males, 
and three hundred and thirty-nine for females. But the 
normal mterval that mares go is from three hundred 
and forty to three hundred and fifty days ; some foals 
are born alive from the three hundredth to the three 
hundred and tenth day, but this is rare. Births are 
frequent between three hundred and twenty-five and 
three hundred and forty days. Then we may consider 
three hundred to four hundred days as the extreme 
limit within which the normal gestation occurs in the 
mare. Although the male colt is longer in uterus than 
the female, it is so in the bovine species. But if a mare 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 47 

is in foal to a jack then either foetus is longer in utero 
than if she had been in foal to her own species. We 
find that gestation decreases with age and that the 
shortest period in pregnancy of old mares above twenty 
years was three hundred and sixteen to three hundred 
and eighteen days, and the longest in mares from six to 
nine years of age was from three hundred and thirty- 
four to three hundred and forty-eight days. 



CHAPTER XVI 



In the Cow. 

The usual time understood by every breeder is 
nine months, although there are variations which must 
be taken into account. We find records at two hundred 
and forty-one and three hundred days, so that we find 
in the cow that parturition is very rare before the' two 
hundred and forty-first day; while again we find certain 
breeds to go as long as two hundred and eighty-two to 
two hundred and eighty-three days. It is said by an 
English correspondent that all calves born after the 
three hundred days were females, while the American 
Journal of Medical Science gives the longest period to 
be three hundred and thirty-six days, and the shortest 
as two hundred and thirteen days; the average of the 
males being two hundred and eighty-eight days, and of 
the females two hundred arid eighty-two days. It is 
well understood that the period of gestation is longer 
for a male than a female in any breed. 



48 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Gestation of Sheep axd Goats. 

Sheep and goats generally go about five months, or 
between one hundred and forty-three days and^ one hun- 
dred and forty-nine days. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Pigs. 



The pig is usually pregnant four months, or, accord- 
ing to some observers, three months, three weeks, and 
three days. The average is one hundred and nineteen 
days, so that the shortest period is twenty-three days or 
less. A peculiarity of our domestic animals is that the 
largest breeds bring forth the fewest in number. The 
mare usually has but one foal at a birth, but on rare 
occasions twins appear. We find in our practice, both 
in Europe and America, that when twins are con- 
ceived, the}^ are often dead, unless some one has charge 
that knows how to attend to a case of twins, the signs 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 49 

of which will be described later in this work in connec- 
tion with illustrations of this subject. We haye attended 
parturition in six mares that had live twins, and ten 
mares that had dead twins. Every one can be saved if 
attended at the first appearance of signs of parturition. 
It is different with the cow, sheep, and hog. It is not 
uncommon for a healthy cow to have three calves at a 
birth, and we once saw in London two steers and two 
heifers that were said to be brought forth at one birth. 
The quartet did resemble each other, both in marks 
and build. We have a manuscript in our possession 
which details a case of a cow that was owned by Mr. 
Alexander Stephens, Farinton, Alford, a black polled 
breed that had seven calves in one year — four at a birth. 
One of the four calves died early in 1846. In 1840 that 
same black polled cow gave birth to six calves, all of 
which died prematurely. Attempts have been made 
by breeding a bull that was a twin to raise a twin-bear- 
ing breed of cattle. In some instances it did look as if 
it would prevail, as two cows had twins to that bull the 
same season, but one of the two cows had twins the sec- 
ond year, and the major part of his stock only produced 
one at a birth. We have records of monstrosities of dif- 
ferent shapes, showing several foetuses grown together 
in utero. On that subject it is not necessary to enter, 
as such will serve no good purpose, either as research 
in physiology, or as a breeder's object. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Free Martins. 
It is generally understood that the female twin is 



50 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

sterile and unproductive, but we have seen at different 
times a female twin calf in this city that has had three 
calves, and is every way a well developed cow. We 
have tried to find out if the heifer was born first, or if 
the bull was sterile, but have failed so far. It is said 
that, if the cow calf is born first, it will not be sterile, 
and that, on the other hand, if the male is born first, it 
will be unproductive. However that may be, we never 
had an opportunity to prove the truth in the matter. 



CHAPTER XX 



Changes in Uterus. 

While these changes are taking place, the broad or 
lateral ligaments are facilitating them by becoming un- 
folded and lengthened, and the uterus in its increasing 
bulk extends backward as well as forward. The cervix, 
firm and resisting, approaches the vulva, and to such a de- 
gree, sometimes, that in certain cattle, particularly those 
that have a small pelvis, the posterior part of the vagina 
appears between the labia of the vulva a month or more 
before parturition, more especially when they lie down. 
At this juncture of gestation any animal that protrudes 
the uterus or any part must be raised a little behind 
when in the barn or prolapsus uteri may follow, either 
before or after parturition. With mares it is often very 
different, while with cows that are very pendant the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 5 I 

opposite occurs; for the uterus, in passing downward 
and forward, carries the posterior part of that portion 
of the vagina behind it, and this cavity becomes 
lengthened and constricted posteriorly, the cervex is 
shortened and the vulva appears to be deeply buried 
between the tuberosities of the ischium. It is much 
better that a portion of the vagina appear one month 
previous to parturition than a tight vulva and torsion 
when the pains of birth take place. It is at this point 
where the obstetrician is tried, as it is considered im- 
possible to deliver an animal when in that state, as it 
often happens that the face of the uterus is downward 
and the horn thrown forward so that the foetus is dead. 

This is the worst state an animal can be in, as the 
c hances of delivery are against every process yet known, 
and death of the parent is sure to follow unless in the 
hands and care of a skillful practitioner. We have no way 
of assisting internally the turning or untwisting of the 
uterus so as to undo the torsion, but turning the animal 
over and over and assisting, as much as possible, the 
uterus both by inserting the hand into the uterus in- 
ternally and manipulating the abdomen when lying on 
her back till the twisted part of the posterior has been 
relaxed, the dead foetus can be removed without injury 
to the dam. Numerous cases are recorded which in- 
contestably prove that during pregnancy the uterus 
will make complete revolutions on itself, producing 
torsion of the cervix and the posterior part of the 
vagina, and strangulation of the organ will result, so 
that spontaneous delivery of the young animal by the 
natural passage is impossible. 



52 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUx\L. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Abortion or Premature Expltlsiox of the Fcetus. 
A great difference of opinion is held among writers 
on veterinary science in regard to the cause and pre- 
vention of abortion. It is every day causing serious 
loss to stock-owners, and the object of this chapter is 
to expl lin and make it better understood. By follow- 
ing the instructions given, and carefully noting particu- 
lars, thousands of dollars will be saved by stockmen. 
There are so many causes of abortion that it will be 
quite in place here to mention a few. Cattle, when 
pregnant, and first turned out to pasture, are apt to run 
and play, and in their frolicsome moods will gore each 
other. Chasing with dogs, fright, feeding on ergotised 
grass, hay, or corn-stalks. Turning a cow out from a 
warm barn to drink at an icy brook often gives the 
foetus such a sudden chill that a disturbance may be 
seen when behind the cow for hours after, and is a great 
cause of protracted labor when the foetus is at the 
stage of maturity. A strong calf, while turning in the 
uterus preparatory to parturition, often in its struggles 
gets reverted, and in common place language is called 
a cross-birth. Therefore, when the pelvic bones are not 
prepared, it requires the most scientific and practical 
skill to even save the dam, to say nothing of the young, 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 53 

however valuable. In a case of twins, the difficulty be- 
comes more serious, as the umbilical attachment, when 
severed in an unnatural way, causes the loss of both 
dam and young- by internal hemorrhage. We have had 
several inquiries to answer of cases of this character, 
brought on or caused by no other thing than drinking 
icy water. Feeding over-ripe Hungarian hay; feeding 
on wet clover and causing tympanitis, feeding mangel 
wurzel leaves, striking animals on the right side, get- 
ting squeezed or crushed in a narrow doorway; consti- 
pation, or excessive straining, all are to be guarded 
against as primary causes of abortion. Cows, when 
pregnant, are like the mare, particularly sensitive to 
putrid smells. It is customary for farmers, without 
thought, to butcher their hogs in the yard, where the 
cows are turned out to exercise, while the barn is 
cleaned out. They sniff and turn up their lips,showmg 
an expression of disgust, and from sympathetic influ- 
ence, they often become the subject of abortion. The 
symptoms are, if dry, they become hollow-backed, flat- 
sided, and, instead of the round, circular form, seem to 
be walking on edge, with the milk coming into the ud- 
der in a thin, fluid state. Then the whole herd is in 
danger if the affected animal is not removed at once to 
a distance, as the placenta is not naturally discharged, 
and remains to pass away in a loathsome, putrid mass, 
sending off a fetid smell that causes every animal to 
sniff", thereby aggravating the in-calf cow until she is 
caused to abort. The consequences of such careless- 
ness become a serious matter to any stock-owner. 
Every kind of dead animal ought to be buried deep out 
of the way of other animals. No cow that has aborted 



54 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

ought to be allowed near the herd for some montsh 
after, and ought to be fed for beef rather than risk her 
to breed again, as in most cases abortion will recur at 
about the same stage in pregnancy. When a cow aborts 
< remove every part of the placenta at sight, wash the 
uterus out with a solution of J oz. carbolic acid to 2 
quarts of tepid water, or a little chloride of lime, either 
of which acts as a disinfectant, and, in a great measure, 
counteracts the smell caused by the discharge. i\.t this 
stage the milk is not fit for use, as if allowed to stand in 
warm weather for an hour or so, it will emit a fetid 
smell. It must not be fed to hogs, as it sometimes is, 
and we have known fatal results take place from its use. 
No cow that has aborted ought to be pastured in the 
same lot where the rest of the herd is at pasture, as the 
daily discharge will most assuredly cause abortion in the 
herd. The cow should have a cleansing drench, com- 
posed of I lb. epsom salts, i oz. jalap, i oz. ground gin- 
ger, 2 oz. ergot of rye, mixed, and given in warm oat 
meal, or oil meal gruel, every other day for one week, 
and the cow kept clean. Should the pasture become 
foul from the discharge of fetid matter, remove every 
animal for at least one month until the rain has cleansed 
it. An animal that spends most of its time in quiet con- 
finement can no more stand the strain of severe exer- 
tion when with young than a wild animal could stand 
the strain of fright in confinement. A mare may be 
employed at her usual work up to within a few days 
of her time, but an hour's over-exertion would be 
ruinous. Proper exercise, with any animal, is bene- 
ficial, but over-exertion is decidedly mjurious. We 
could give many instances in proof. Last July a circus 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 55 

visited this city. A mare with foal, hitched to a 
wagon, met the procession, and was so frightened 
that three men could scarcely hold her. We were 
called to attend her the next morning, as during the 
night she had slipped a nearly perfect foetus. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



Abortion— Its Treatment and Cure. 

We have given the causes of abortion, and now take 
up its treatment in the different stages. Food and drink 
in excess create a disturbance of foetal life, that in an 
advanced stage produces annoyance and inconvenience. 
A sudden chill by drinking cold water will do the same, 
even causing excessive and violent struggling, and the 
serious danger of separation of the umbilicus. When 
this result has taken place, then comes the endeavor to 
prevent the death of the foetus from hemorrhage. Na- 
ture has not prepared the way for premature expulsion- 
The symptoms that are presented to the attendant at 
this stage show themselves by the mare or cow becom- 
ing fiat-sided; milk making its appearance from the 
teats, showing distress, ears cold, and dry, hot muzzle ; 
if a cow, one horn cold, and one often very hot. At 
this stage we find in most cases the pulse full, the sub- 
maxillary artery longer than usual and somewhat bound - 



56 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

ing under the finger; the regurgitation of blood in the 
lower parts of the jugular generally strong ; the sounds 
of the heart generally increased. Apoplexy in all its 
alarming symptoms has set in. The first step to be 
taken is to assist an unprepared parturition by reliev- 
ing the dam of the foetus. Injudicious and inconsistent 
means are often resorted to by the ignorant and inexpe- 
rienced. The main object in this case is to save the 
dam. The first thing is to give a saline aperient; sul- 
phate of potash half an ounce, and forty drops of laud- 
anum in a little cold water, with cold wet cloths, kept 
on the head so as to render the animal quiet while un- 
dergoing parturition. The first act of manipulation is 
to break the placenta. No unnatural force must be ap- 
plied. Proper measures, which cannot well be de- 
scribed, will require good judgment and practical skill, 
to bring the dam through to a state of health. After 
the comatose stage has passed by, the patient rises upon 
her legs. She staggers a little at first, but the counte- 
nance does not indicate the existence of pain. The tem- 
perature of the surface of the body is normal. The ani- 
mal partakes of a little food; but with only temporary 
relish. The bowels and kidneys seem to perform their 
natural functions, to all appearance. The udder be- 
comes softened, and milk can be drawn in large quanti- 
ties, and our patient requires nothing more than good 
nursing and proper diet. In all such cases we should 
be careful not to be carried away with the notion that 
stimulants, or vegetable or mineral tonics, are necessary 
to assist nature. The chances are that such medica- 
ments will be a principal means of assisting nature in 
her mighty restorative powers, and help to bring on 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 57 

that State we so much wish to avoid, viz.; pure and 
general fever. 

Not unfrequently twelve to twenty-four hours after 
the patient has regained her feet and seeming strength, 
and, perhaps, has eaten heartily, and the anxiety of the 
owner is considerably relieved thinking all is well, we 
find that although the animal eats a little, or, it may be, 
gives an increased quantity of milk, and the bowels and 
bladder are in a natural state, a glance shows us that 
the patient is not doing as well as we could wish. The 
muzzle is dry, mouth hot, tongue slimy ; the legs, teats, 
and udder cold ; the pulse indicating from 65° to 75°. 
These are the symptoms we generally see in an animal 
from twelve to twenty-four hours after the comatose 
stage of parturient apoplexy has passed off. In all such 
cases we cannot be too careful in after treatment. By 
all means keep warm and well bedded. If symptoms 
of chill come on, place a cloth wrung out of hot water 
over the back ; give internally cinchona and tincture of 
iron, equal parts, one drachm, with a little essence of 
ginger every two hours ; bandage the legs with flannel, 
rubbing well to assist the circulation ; drenching three 
times a day with flaxseed tea, one quart ; black molasses 
one pint, and four ounces of epsom salts, given warm 
with hay tea, with a little salt. If thirst is present, as 
is generally the case, sesqui-sulphate of potassa in a 
little cold water, given little and often, will subdue the 
desire and assist in reducing the fever. In every case 
see that the bowels are not costive. Oils, lard, and fat 
pork are not to be given, as they are an abomination to 
all ruminants, whose power of digestion is confined to 
vegetable matter ; animal food brings on nausea and a 



58 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

disease of itself. Saltpetre and all other supposed 
fever-reducing remedies must be avoided. We care 
not who disagrees with us in this, saltpetre is an inflam- 
mation-producing agent, and ignorance of materia med- 
ica from the time of Youatt seems to prevail among 
those who ought to know better, which is a disgrace to 
intelligent veterinary practice. 

During icy weather farmers ought to be careful as 
to feeding, watering, and exercise of mares in foal. Al- 
ways see that the entrances to their stalls are roomy 
enough, so there will be no danger of striking their 
sides against the sides of the doors. Mares in foal 
should never be allowed to run in pastures with sheep 
when the latter are dropping their lambs. The prac- 
tice is not a common one, yet we have seen such cases 
upon farms where cattle, sheep, and horses run together 
in large pastures, and serious loss has sometimes re- 
sulted. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



The Placenta. 

The placenta varies considerably in different ani- 
mals. There is a great difference between the placenta 
of the mare and that of the cow. In solipeds it is made 
up of a number of villi or piliform papillse, which are 
spread in a uniform manner over the whole external 
surface of the chorion. These villi are spread like a 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 59 

network ail over the lining membrane of the uterus. 
They are red in color, and, like the chorion itself, con- 
sist of vascular layers, being the terminal ramifications 
of the umbilical cord. They are slender and easily 
torn, and are connected with two veins. On this ac- 
count there is no fusion between the vascular continu- 
ity, as was at one time taught. In the uterine mucous 
membrane all the important changes that occur take 
place through the walls of the capillaries by virtue of 
osmotic force. 



CHAPTER XXIV, 



The Chorion. 
This is the outer membrane that covers the ovum, 
very loosely, at the earliest period of its existence. It 
corresponds with the membrane lining the eggs of ovi- 
parous animals. It is a large membraneous sac, com- 
pletely closed, which, being moulded upon the uterine 
cavity, resembles the uterus in form, and has often been 
understood to be all that was required to be removed 
in spaying heifers. It has a body and two cornua ; the 
latter, however, are not co-extensive with those of the 
uterus. When the chorion is distended, its cornua show 
fine and deep plicae or bulgings like the caecum. The 
cornua are always unequal in size, that in which the 
foetus is developed being, of course, the larger. The 



60 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

external surface, otherwise smooth, is studded with in- 
numerable small, red, short papillae or ''processes," 
which are formed by the placental villous tufts. This 
papillary face adheres slightly to the internal surface of 
the uterus, and between the two surfaces a trifling quan- 
tity of brown or blood-colored fluid is found. The 
inner face is lined by the external layer of the allantois, 
to which it is closely adherent, except at the insertion 
of the vascular cord, where there exists a kind of coni- 
cal infundibulum, occupied by the umbilical vesicle. 
On this surface the umbilical arteries and veins ramify, 
their minute divisions traversing the membrane to form 
the placental villosities. The chorion may be divided 
into two laminae, the outer of which has been called the 
exochorion, and the inner the endochorion. From the 
endochorion are derived the vessels which pass to the 
villi, the chorion itself being destitute of vessels until 
the allantois is developed. All these vessels and veins 
are seen in the illustrations 36 and 71. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



The Umbilical Vesicle. 

This is a small pyriform pouch, lodged in the infun- 
dibulum at the extremity of the umbilical chord. Its 
fundus adheres to the chorion. While one end adheres 
to the chorion by a narrow canal, the terminal portion 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 6 1 

of the small intestine terminates in the vena portae of 
the dam. Its use is evidently to carry nutriment from 
the mother to the foetus, even before the development 
of the placenta ; although, in early gestation, it may 
serve other purposes. It is the first part that is affected 
after conception, as it then begins to supply blood to 
the foetus. There is one point I wish to imf)ress on the 
mind of the reader ; after a mare has had several colts, 
the umbilicus is active instantly after conception. We 
only find one umbilical cord that has its fountain head 
at the vena portae of the parent, and no placenta to 
form a living habitation for the reception ol the em- 
bryo seed that has been planted. At that period of 
evolution it seems to act like the trunk of an elephant 
ready to renew the same action that it had performed 
in a previous case of conception. The ovaries then 
take hold, and, like secreting glands, play their part in 
the stability of impregnation. I shall again refer to 
this when speaking of sterility, &c. Likewise, under 
the head of abortion, there are several observations of 
great value to the stock-breeder, farmer, and every in- 
dividual that has the charge of stock. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



The Mamm.i:. 
The mammas are the organs that produce the lac- 



62 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

teal fluid to sustain life after the birth of the young. 
In early life these glands are rudimentary, but become 
developed on reproduction, and are fully fifty at the 
end of gestation, when their function is about to be 
carried on actively. When the young creature has 
completed its term of sucking they lose their activity, 
and gradually diminish considerably in size. In the 
mare there are two sflands or mammse, placed on each 
side in the inguinal region, about nine inches in front of 
the vulva, where they take the place of the scrotum of 
the male. Externally, the_y appear as two hemispheri- 
cal masses separated by a shallow furrow. Each has 
its centre on each side of the median line. Each has a 
conical, slightly flattened prolongation called the teat 
or nipple, which is perforated by several orifices from 
which the milk escapes, and by which the young crea- 
ture obtains that fluid by suction. The two glands are 
retained in their position by the fine skin covering them, 
and which, destitute of hair at the extremity of the 
teats, though elsewhere provided with a short soft down, 
is smooth, pliable, and unctuous from the presence of 
sebaceous follicles. At the base of the teat are a num- 
ber of small tubercles, which are really the areola of 
the nipple. The mammas are also attached to the ab- 
dominal tunic by means of several short, wide, elastic 
bands, which bear some analogy to the suspensory lig- 
aments of the male scrotum. In structure each udder 
offers an envelope of yellow elastic fibrous glandular 
tissue, the sinuses or galactophorous reservoirs, and 
the lactiferous ducts, with excretory canals or milk 
ducts. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



63 




Fig. 13.— Udder of the Cow. 

a-navel. b-milk vein. c-milk globvles. d-lactiferous 
ducts. e-colostrum. f-orifice of the teat. g-the 
skin drawn back to show the gland. 



The diseases of the udder will be explained 
and remedies given in due time. From the galac- 
tophorous sinuses or reservoirs the milk is quickly 
discharged into the teats. The length of the teats 
varies with use. The elastic tissues surrounding 
them lengthen and become erect under the influence of 
stimuli. The extremity of the teat (at F) is well pro- 
vided with this tissue, which acts as a sphincter, and 
prevents the passive flow of milk. Connective tissue, 
blood vessels, nerves, and absorbents complete the or- 
ganization of the mammae. 



64 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



SUPERFOETATION. 

This condition, mentioned by the ancients and old 
writers, has never taken place to my knowledge, nor 
could I believe it, as the uterus is closed immediately 
after copulation. Only at one service are the ova im- 
pregnated, and not at different times, as supposed by 
old Hippocrates, even in a case where a mule foal and 
a horse foal have been brought forth at one birth by 
the same mare. In 1753 a mare at Chatillon-sur-Sevre 
brought forth a horse and a mule foal. In the Veteri- 
nare-Pratiqiie, 1826, there is mentioned a mare which 
was covered the same day by a male ass and by a stal- 
lion. She brought forth in eleven months a well-formed 
though weak mule foal and a full developed horse-foal, 
both dead. In the same journal there is a similar case 
recognized in 1836, where a mare was covered by an 
ass and a two-year old horse colt broke into the enclo- 
sure with the mare and served her several times during 
the day. She was several times tried afterwards, but 
refused the horse, and in eleven months brought forth 
a well-developed mule and a horse foal. Both lived 
and did well. There are a great many such cases on 
record, but I have never seen one. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 65 



CHAPTER XXVIIl. 



Multiple Pregnancy. 

It is guess work in most of cases to truthfully diag- 
nose twins. Yet a few remarks on that point will be 
quite in place here. At the early months of pregnancy 
with twins, the abdomen becomes more voluminous than 
where there is only one, but this does not always hold 
good, as an aged cow, if fed on hay, will show a very 
large abdomen, as if she is likely to produce triplets. 
But there are several symptoms worth attention. Either 
a mare or cow will lie down more than formerly; respi- 
ration will be accelerated, and all her movements while 
at exercise will be dull and clumsy when the twins 
are in life. But when dead her posterior limbs will 
show an cedematous appearance, and she will show 
a decided falling off in condition when nearing par- 
turition. Should the colts be suffocated in their 
fcetal abode, she will show signs of parturition at the 
time, as a shrinking of the abdominal muscles will 
appear as if they had fallen in, and a dead weight 
was keeping them m place. This is the time to 
operate for their removal, to save the life of the 
dam. Not a moment should be lost, even although 



66 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

the pelvic bones have not slipped as is natural when 
all is in a normal state. Any practitioner that does 
not take this opportunity ought to be made responsi- 
ble for the value of the mare or cow. It is sometimes 
very difficult to tell when there are twins, even by 
examination per vagina or rectum. Auscultation does 
not show the beat of both hearts, as one is very apt to 
accept the throb of the heart of the dam instead of that 
of th^ twin hearts. Distinct pulsation of the foetal 
hearts, especially if at a distance, is impossible to be 
heard. In illustrating the position of twins, I have 
placed them ready to be delivered, as I have several 
times had them in my own stock, especially in Aj^rshire 
cattle. The position of the young in the uterus varies. 
In some cases we find both are developed in the same 
cavity and the same amniotic fluid, their membranes 
being common, and no partition existing between them, 
while at other times we find each foetus enveloped in 
its own membrane. In every case of parturition it is 
prudent to explore per vagina in utero, as to the pres- 
ence oi another, as it often happens that the placenta 
will contract on the last one, and will remain in utero 
some hours, or even days, before relaxation takes place. 
Meanwhile suffocation may destroy the coming young 
one. Sometimes both the fore feet of each foetus will 
3e presented at once — four front feet. One has to be 
pushed back with the aid of the compressor by placing 
it carefully across the breast of the lowest colt or calf. 
Immediate action is necessary on the part of the attend- 
ant to temove the first as quietly as possible, as suffo- 
cation is apt to kill the lower one. Having removed 
the first, the second is very seldom difficult to remove. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 6"] 

Remove the placenta at time of birth. Give the dam, 
if exhausted, a quart of strong ale and flax-seed gruel 
immediately. Be sure and draw your hand across the 
mouth of the colt, or calf, so as to remove any mucus 
that may have got into the mouth or nostrils in partu- 
rition. It is customary, especially in Europe, to break 
a raw ^^^ and put it down the throat of either colt or 
calf at time of birth, and, indeed, a raw ^^^ is a wel- 
come accompaniment at any tinrc" in life to an}'^ of our 
domestic animals. I have known a mare to have two 
colts ; one died about the fifth month, and the other 
colt grcAv and was delivered in good health, throve 
well afterAvard, and I took the dead foetus away with- 
out injury to the mare at time of parturition. Had I 
not been called at the time the parts involved would 
have contracted on themselves, and in forty-eight hours 
I should have lost both mare and colt. Had both colts 
been in the same envelope of the uterus, both would 
have been dead, but each had its own sac. I had a case 
where the foetus was retained in the uterus for over one 
year, and was a living, healthy colt afterwards, but for 
a considerable time previous to parturition the dam 
seemed unwell. The death of the foetus in these multiple 
cases appears to be due either to the stronger vitality 
of one, which, attracting to itself a larger share of nutri- 
ment, starves the other or to the too considerable in- 
crease in volume of one foetus, which compresses and 
atrophies the others; suspension of nourishment has 
resulted, and decarbonization of blood stained and 
poisoned the foetus. I herewith present the reader a 
clear picture of twins whereby their position can be 
seen and easily understood. 



68 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 




Fig. 3. 



TWIN FCETUSES IN DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS, PASSING INTO 
THE GENITAL CANAL, SHOWING THE DIVISION BETAVEEN 
EACH, SO THAT IF ONE COLT IS DEAD, THE OTHER MAY NOT 
BE AFFECTED WHEN THE DAM IS HEALTHY. 



The under calf is represented as coming in a nor- 
mal presentation. The more the lower foetus strug- 
gles, the more the weight of the upper one fills the space 
in the sac, each having its distinct sac. The envelope 
is seen quite distinctly. Had one of the calves been 
dead for any length of time the one either above or be- 
low could have lived independently of the other. The 
umbilicus, distinctly represented on the under colt, is 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 69 

divided by accident in struggling. The chorion divis- 
ion between them kept them apart, and no injury could 
happen to the live foetus, and it would be retained in 
the uterus till natural parturition took place. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



Twins or Free Martins. 

Few stock-breeders but have had a cow bring forth 
twins or two calves at a birth. But although there may 
be twins at a birth, they may be free martins, or a male 
and female, which is understood as free martins. It is 
well understood that the heifer will not breed, but the 
bull will. Although the heifer will come in heat quite 
regularly, and having a bull in the pasture grazing with 
her, she had no calf. I have spayed a free martin four 
months old, and I considered the defect, if any, that 
the uterus does not develop, which, I think, is the only 
reason that the heifer does not produce offspring. As 
for the bull, he is every way fully developed, and has 
been the sire of as good healthy stock as any other. I 
would not advise the raising of cither sex for stock 
purposes. 



70 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XXX. 




Fig. 4. 
FcETUs AND Membranes. 

A-UTEKUS OPENED ON ITS LEFT SIDE. BB-COTYLEDONS OF THE 
UTERUS. CC-PLACENTUL^. DD-ALLANTOIS. E-YESICLE OF 
THE URACHUS. F-AMNION. G-UMBILICAL CORD. 

We might have explained more fully the anatomy 
of the uterus, but enough is illustrated in this to show 
fully this great repository of animal life from its incep- 
tion to active existence. To the student of anatomy it 
might be more useful to go into detail, but this work is 
not got up for that purpose. It is only to show to the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 7 1 

stock-breeders the necessary essentials of propagation, 
and the proper treatment of the breeding female in 
gestation, and the benefit to foetal life of safe and quick 
delivery. 

The membranes that compose the uterus are the 
chorion, a membraneous envelope exactly fitted to the 
uterus; the amnion, a second ovoid sack included within 
the chorion, and containing the foetus ; the allantois, a 
membrane composed of two layers, which are spread 
over the external face ot the amnion and inner surface 
of the chorion, thus lining the cavity formed by these 
two envelopes ; a small bladder of a pyriform shape, 
the umbilical vesicle, the placenta, a collection of vas- 
cular tufts connecting the foetus to the mother, and the 
umbilical cord, composed of vessels that attach the 
foetus to the envelopes which contain it, and which ulti- 
mately ramify in the placental tufts. We will describe 
each in detail, as a correct knowledge of the anatomy 
is essential to the practitioner. We will take our do- 
mestic animals, as our type — ^sequus, bos, and ovis, 
especially the soliped. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



Assistance in Delivery— Illustration Instruments. 
Having described every position that presents it- 
self, or, at least, the most difficult, I will try to describe 
the instruments and how to use them. It is a general 
opinion with stock-breeders that if all is well with the 
dam, there is no need of help in case of normal presen- 
tation. We decidedly differ from this in opinion, as the 



72 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

sooner delivery is accomplished the better, both for 
dam and colt. Exhaustion and debility are thus pre- 
vented, and the many parturient pains greatly lessened. 
We have often been called to cases where the mare or 
cow has been suffering from parturient pains for forty- 
eight hours, and when we arrived, we found the j^oung 
one dead and the dam prostrated, not able in any way 
to assist in the delivery of her offspring. If attention 
had been given at the first, both dam and colt might 
have been saved alive, and all right. It is quite differ- 
ent with our domestic animals, which, in a manner, are 
pampered, and the more value placed on them, the more 
they are pampered, and as they are prevented from hav- 
ing the liberty that is necessary, extra exertion is re- 
quired in a great many cases to expel the foetus. An 
animal in a pampered state very often throws a large 
calf or colt, and sometimes the dam is fat when there is 
even more need of help at this time. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



Hock Presentation. 

This case was 9, dead foetus at ten months, that had 
been dead some time, the cow showing signs of sick- 
ening. The mechanism of hock presentation is sup- 
posed to be as follows : • The foetus in the posterior 
presentation, impelled by the uterine contractions to- 
wards the cervix, reaches the inlet with the hind limbs 
not quite extended, and the axis of the young creature 
quite coinciding, perhaps, with that of the passage. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 73 

Consequently, the legs come in contact with the pelvic 
brim below by the posterior surface of the shank, while 
the rump encounters the sacro vertebral angle above. 
The labor pains continuing, the rump has a tendency to 
descend, and, with the points of the hocks, to advance 
through the os ; the hocks become flexed until at last 
the cannon-bones press against the thighs, and the 
double legs and rump become joined in the outlet, be- 
cause, the hind-quarters being doubled inward, the 
mass is too large to advance further. Labor is, there- 
fore, suspended, and the animal becomes exhausted 
with severe straining. It is now too late to think of 
saving colt or calf; therefore, every effort must be ju- 
diciously made to save the life of the mother. Give 
her one-half an ounce of laudanum, either in spirits or 
cold water — spirits is the best. The dose will cause 
painless prostration in less than five minutes, and the 
operator then can use any means to deliver her. The 
greatest care must now be taken to prevent either her- 
tiia in utero or injury to the bladder in the use of any 
kind of instrument. The compressure must here be 
brought into requisition. The animal lying prostrate, 
place the compressure carefully against the crupper of 
the colt, guiding it carefully in place ; press gently in- 
wards till you find that the foetus is clear of the pelvic 
arch, hold, press steady while you introduce the hook, 
(fig. 11); catch hold of the hock of one hind leg, 
pressing the rump back into the uterus. Then you 
can get more space to raise up the hock and pull for- 
ward the metatarsal and pastern joints. Pull it so far 
out into space as to enable you to tie a cord or buckle a 
belt tightly around the pastern joints. You then can 



74 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



press the hind parts into the uterus, using the hook to 
get hold of the other hind leg, tie a cord to it and have 
your assistant draw the cords and cause delivery as 
quickly as possible. Remove the placenta at once, then 
see to the dam. Untie her head so as to give her relief, 
and give her a quart or two of warm gruel with ale, 
porter, or wine mixed in it. 



CHAPTER XXXIIl, 




Fig. 5. 

Hock Presentation, with Cord in Position, being Slipped 
Over by the Compressure. 

There are two ways by which the hind legs can be 
got into position for rapid delivery. One is to use the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 75 

loop by pressing under till you get it over the hind feet, 
or even one toot, cording one or both, and instantly 
using effort to deliver. Should the hock joints be inad- 
vertently drawn into the pelvic space, use the compres- 
sure by pushing the foetus back till the loop can be got 
over the foot and a cord round the pastern joint. In 
every case of hock presentation the point of the oscalsis 
is alwa3^s the part which the hand encounters first. It 
is sometimes found well into the canal, and the body of 
the colt or calf in the uterus, and in some cases we find 
the rump wedged in the inlet or passage, all caused by 
the dam's straining. Active measures must be resorted 
to. Press the foetus well forward into the uterus, and 
have the hook brought into instant use, so as to get 
room to draw the feet out by getting the hind legs 
straightened. When a cow has become exhausted and 
lain down, the difficulty is greater on account of the 
pressure of the abdominal muscles interfering by up- 
ward as well as downward pressure. When any diffi- 
culty in that way becomes apparent, lay the mare or 
cow on her side — ^it does not matter which side. You 
will find it much easier to deliver the colt in that posi- 
tion than when she is standing or lying with her feet 
under her. It is the custom with some practitioners to 
amputate the hind legs, either at the stifle or hock 
joints. The writer is decidedly against amputation, as 
when the operator has done so, he has prevented his 
getting a powerful hold to assist delivery, even if the 
colt is dead. A calf thus presented is frequently alive, 
but a mare will strain till her strength is exhausted, and 
the result is strangulation of her colt. 



76 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MAXUAL. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 




Fig. 6. 
I'OSTERIOIl PeESEXTATIOX — Lr^IBO-SACKAL POSITIOX. 

In hock presentation I described ver}' fully the 
modus operandi. All I wish the operator now to do is 
to exert himself and assistant to induce a rapid delivery, 
so as to save the life of the foetus, and relieve the mare 
or cow from severe straining, as the sooner relief is at- 
tained the better. The great trouble in this case is the 
danger of the foetus turning, and in the struggle get- 
ting the hind feet entangled in the umbilical cord, and 
either lacerating it, or tearing it free of the abdominal 
adhesions, and causing the foetus, after birth, to evacuate 
the urine from the navel, instead of from the proper 
opening. There- is scarcely a month in the year but we 
are asked to give cause and cure for umbilical troubles. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



71 



like abnormal micturition through the navel. In every 
case we prescribe a compress, such as is illustrated in 
this work, for a case of hernia in calf, where the proper 
appliance is given, so that every stock-breeder may use 
the unpatented treatment without restriction. First, 
put on the single bandage, then adjust it to be exactly 
over the navel, then place a pad made of cloth and cot- 
ton batting, properly covered, on the side next the 
navel, with Dr. G. Stuart's Healing Ointment. It is a 
rare case that the pad ever needs to be removed till the 
''breach," as it is called, is healed, never again to show 
weakness of any kind. 



CHAPTER XXXV 




Fig. 7. 

Dystokia— Fore Limb Crossed Over the Neck. 
In such a case it is sometimes very difficult for an 
inexperienced person to understand the real position 



78 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



of presentation of the foetus, and yery imprudent means 
have been used to deliver the mare, without avail, and 
often doing great injur3^ It is very easily done by the 
use of the compressure, pushing the fcetus back so as to 
unlock the position of the leg that is placed firmly over 
the back part of the head, thus preventing the strain- 
ing of the mare from again wedging the colt abnor- 
mally into the canal of the uterus again. Immediately 
on the assistant's getting the limbs in a proper position, 
loop the head and get it in between the fore legs, then 
deliver the mare without delay. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 




Fig. 8. 

Anterior Presentation — both fore limbs completely 

Retained.* 

It will readily be perceived how one or both of the 

fore feet bent back under the body will prove an obsta- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 79 

cle to the passage and quick delivery of the foetus. 
You should find in every such case that the shoulders 
of the colt or calf are the cause of dystokia. The 
great muscular mass forms a very prominent obstacle 
when the limbs are thrown back. Then, again, unless 
the feet are quickly got in position, so as to deliver the 
calf, the young thing is lost by being strangled. First, 
push the calf back, and with the hook described, grasp 
the arm at the joint, draw one fore foot forward 
first, then the other. Remember that in every case 
you cannot get the fore leg straight unless you have 
space to do it, as you will be forced to yield to the 
severe straining of the dam while drawing out the leg, 
showing plainly the necessity of keeping the compres- 
sure firmly fixed on the shoulder. I have already given 
the proper precautions to ease and prevent straining by 
the dam, which is a safe preventive agamst exhaustion, 
and is the prime secret of success. Immediately on 
getting the fore feet in position get them corded, the 
head loop over the head, and deliver, either standing 
or lying. It matters not which position the dam may 
take, but if she persist m standing, have a bunch of 
straw ready, or a good bed, so as not to in any way in- 
jure the young thing. Always pull down if standing ; if 
lying draw always toward the udder, as when drawing 
straight out you are apt to injure the spinal column. 
That is often the cause of the colt's not being able to 
stand up for days without help. 



8o 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 




Fig. 9. 
Dystokia — With Lateral Deviation. 

It is generally acknowledged that lateral deviation 
of the head is not well understood. Such a statement 
may fall from the lips of a non-experienced practitioner, 
but the practical operator knows full well that he never 
found a case of lateral deviation in a weak or immature 
foetus. We only find a case of torsion in a v/ell devel- 
oped foetus. Its struggles in utero are often caused by 
the dam's rolling, drinking cold icy water, when the 
foetus can be seen rolling, as it were, by continued pres- 
sure on the abdominal muscles, if the attendant stand 
behind the mare or cow. In such cases the uterine 
contractions propel the head of the foetus against the 
walls of the pelvis, instead of into the os-uteri, and the 
impelling forces are kept up by strong pain and dis- 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 8 1 

turbance. The foetal membrane gives way and the 
liquor-amnii escapes — the "waters," as it is often called. 
Spasm of the cervix uteri, torsion of the uterus, and 
other anomalous conditions may all, more or less, occa- 
sion it. As with the downward deviation, if the nose 
is not in the axis of the pelvis, or os even, though the 
latter may be partially dilated, misdirection may occur, 
and all the more rapidly should the fore limbs pass into 
the vagina. I think from experience that this takes 
place more often in mares that are pregnant lor the first 
time. Every breeder who knows when the dame's time 
is up will note carefully the least uneasiness in a mare, 
such as walking from place to place with raised tail, or 
if, in an advanced state, standing isolated with her back 
arched, showing unmistakable signs of distress. No 
time must be lost in making an examination. If it is 
ascertained that the liquor has been discharged, and 
the foetal membrane can be felt by a gentle spreading 
of the lips of the vulva, it is high time to act. Make 
instant preparations at once; have the hand and arm 
well rubbed with fine oil, or fresh lard, and make an 
examination per vagina, in order to ascertain the proper 
condition of the colt or the cause of disturbance with 
the dam. It is not difficult, as a rule, to distinguish the 
existence of a case of lateral deviation. Usually both 
fore feet are presented in the vagina, but birth does 
not progress. A very important occurrence may be 
noted ; that is, one limb on the side belonging to which 
the head is bent, is, as it were, shorter, or rather less 
advanced, than the leg or foot on the other side. B}^ 
this sign the owner will know that lateral deviation has 
taken place on the side that has the shortest leg pre- 



82 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



sented. Having ascertained on which side the trouble 
exists, care is required to raise the head. No time must 
be lost to save the life of the colt. The pastern joints 
must be corded, and the compressure placed firmly on 
the fore leg close to the breast, gently pushing the colt 
into the body of the uterus in order to get a wider 
space to raise the head. The head loop must then be 
applied over the nose, keeping the body back as far as 
possible. Your assistant must gently pull the head 
into place so as to get it into the neck of the uterus, 
and then, with the help of assistant and mare straining, 
instant delivery will be effected. 



CHAPTER XXXVIIl 




Fig. 10. 
Anterior Deviation— Extreme Downward Deviation of 

THE Head. 

This is usually the deviation of the head met with 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 83 

in hydrocephalus, though it is not uncommon when the 
cranium is normal and the foetus well formed and strong. 
The deviation may vary from mere flexion of the head 
at the atlas, the nose lying immediately in front of the 
pubis border, to extreme flexion of the whole neck, the 
head being pushed beneath the chest, or even the abdo- 
men. It is only met with in the vertebro-sacral position 
of the fcetus, and more often, perhaps, in the cow than 
the mare. It is caused bv premature rupture of the 
foetal membranes, and the deviation occurs when the 
head or nose of the colt or calf is entermg the pelvis. 
If the nose is not exactly in the axis of the inlet, but 
inclines a little downward, and is slightly flexed, the 
nose comes in contact with the brim of the pubis, and 
is retained there, while the uterine contraction, pushing 
on the body, propels the fore limbs, if in a favorable 
direction, into the genital canal. Thus it will be under- 
stood that, if the expulsive efforts continue, the head 
becomes more and more flexed, as the foetal mass is 
carried toward the vulva, (as is shown in the above 
illustration), until, instead of vertical and oblique, the 
face becomes horizontal, and is pressed firmly on the 
floor of the pelvis, and, as straining and labor go on, 
the head is retained, so that when the hand of the 
operator explores the genital canal, the feet are found 
presented towards the vulva, if the forehead comes in 
contact with the brim of the pubis. The uterine con- 
traction and straining being stronger, the head is 
thrown against the lower arch of the pelvis, while the 
shoulders and crest of the neck are impelled towards 
the inlet, and may be forced firmly, according to cir- 
cumstances. In this case, difficult as it may appear, the 



84 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



hand of the operator is introduced and follows the 
direction of the mane ; after having pressed the head 
backwards it is lifted up, and the hand drawn through 
the mouth, in order to ascertain if the colt be alive. If 
the tongue, when drawn out, is quickly drawn back, the 
young thing is alive, and no time must be lost to get 
delivery and save the animal from suffocation. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 




K^ 



No. 11. No. 12. No. 14. 

r(ETAL DySTOKIA. 



Transverse presentation in any or all its forms 
must be instantly attended to, as any delay endangers 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 85 

the life of the dam. We have already observed that 
there is no case where the foetus cannot be removed 
without serious injury to the dam, even without having 
resort to embryotomy. The first instrument in dysto- 
kia or difficult parturition, is No. 14, called therepeller. 
This instrument must be a little stronger than here rep- 
resented. It is first used when the foetus is firmly fixed 
in the canal of the pelvis, to push it, alive or dead, back 
into the body of the uterus, in order to draw either 
head or feet into such a position as will enable the oper- 
ator to perform a quick delivery. When the head is 
fast fixed between the fore legs, and the fore feet pre- 
sented, the first thing is to cord the posterior joints, 
then with the repeller push the foetus into the uterus. 
Then use the hook No. 12, (if the nose cannot be looped 
over with No. 1 1, called the ** head-loop," illustrated by 
Fig. 19, showing the way to loop the foetus,) which is 
the best, as once getting a fair hold, you have good 
command of the head, and can draw the head nito po- 
sition, and then, having the cords firmly attached to the 
fore feet or the pastern joints, you will have a powerful 
hold in delivering the colt. Should you require help, 
your assistant can be called on, but always be sure in 
whatever way the colt is presented not to use force till 
you have ascertained the exact position, for fear that a 
fore foot and hind foot may be presented. In such a case 
force will kill the colt and endanger the life of the dam. 
We have been told in cases where assistance was re- 
quired that in introducing the hand into the uterus, the 
colt was so far forward in the uterus that one could not 
get a hold of any part to draw the foetus into proper 
position for delivery. Here the hook No. 12 comes 



86 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



into requisition, and also the assistance of the olive- 
shaped repeller(No. 14), as, if the hand cannot reach the 
feet or head, this instrument will be easily put over the 
feet, and the cord drawn tight, so as to hold the foot till 
it is corded ; then the head can be adjusted so as to be 
delivered instantly, as the dam's straining will throw 
the foetus back. 



CHAPTER XL. 




Fig. 15. Fig. 16, Fig. 17 

Instruments Used for Dead Fcettts in Utero. 
Many injuries are the means of destroying the life 
of the colt or calf when nearly fully developed. A 
mare that has been turned out to pasture after having 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 87 

been sweating at work, is sure to roll in consequence of 
itching. This should not be allowed, as the colt is sure 
to be strangled by torsion. I have had several cases of 
the kind where well-kept mares, but not cleaned and 
curried every day, will roll, and the result is a dead colt. 
Cows are quite different. Curry and clean any mare 
that is used in harness before she is set at liberty, as she 
is sure to roll and kill the colt. Whenever it is ascer- 
tained that the colt is dead have it delivered immedi- 
ately, even if you should have recourse to craniotomy. 




No. 18. 

Extractor TO be Used only when the Colt or Calf is Dead. 

Forceps used only when the foetus is dead ; one side 
is carefully placed in position, fixed firm on one side of 
the jaw, or behind the shoulder, if the head loop has 
been placed over the head. Then slide the other side 
of the forceps firm in position ; in the opposite side fix 
the slide so as to keep the teeth of the forceps firm in 
place and deliver the dead foetus. 

The best way is to use the double forceps. No. 18, 
with sharp teeth firmly fixed on each side back of the 
jaw, pushing the square slide till they are firm in place. 
In introducing them into place one must be taken in 
the hand and carefully placed behind the jaw ; then 
slide up the other side, and insert it firmly in place, 
bringing both rings together, so that a piece of round 
wood can be put in, by which to hold it firm, A pow- 



88 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

erful hold is thus obtained, and whether the mare is 
lying or standing, delivery can be soon accomplished. 
But it often happens that the foetus is retained for some 
time after death, and it has become fetid, and then, on 
pulling hard, the head will come off. The double^crotchets 
No. 17, is placed carefully behind each shoulder blade, 
and the cord connecting each over the back part of the 
shoulders. A strong effort then being made, the colt is 
brought away. If all should give way, and decompo- 
sition has so far advanced that every muscle has lost its 
strength, resort must be had to the toothed forceps, by 
which every part can be removed without injury, either 
to the operator or dam. Great care must be used not 
to get the hands scratched while working on such a 
case. Always keep them well oiled. 



CHAPTER XLI. 




Fig. 19. 
Use of Instruments. 
Fig. 19 shows the proper way to put the head loop 
over the face till it is placed on the back part of the 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 89 

head. Keep the handle below the throat, so as to pre- 
vent the colt from being choked while assisting deliv- 
ery. In every case this instrument is the best one to 
be used. It will take the assistance of four men in de_ 
livering a cow without this instrument, while, by its 
aid, the job can be more easily and quickly done by two. 
Let the feet be firmly grasped by a piece of cloth, so as 
to enable the man to hold firm, while the assistant gently 
draws the head with the aid of the head loop. Every 
experienced breeder will admit that it requires great 
exertion to deliver a cow or mare by only having hold 
of the feet, even with the use of a cord. By the use of the 
head loop the work is lessened, and pain obviated with 
a quick delivery. It is often adduced that wild animals 
do not require assistance. We reply that they cannot 
get it, and, besides, their offspring seems small, as if na- 
ture had adapted the size to the outlet of the pelvis. I 
believe it is a rule among western cowboys not to in- 
terfere in parturition when any of their wild cows are 
showing signs, as the dam will go right off" and never 
look at the calf on account of fright at the presence of 
the cowboy. When left undisturbed she will turn and 
lick the young one, and remain with it to protect from 
man, wolf, or dog. I may repeat here that it is the 
practice of some breeders to milk a cow previous to 
parturition. This is a mistake, as nature never intended 
the milk glands to be cultivated till the young were 
present to receive its nutritive secretion. 



90 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MAXI:;AL. 

CHAPTER XLIL 




Fig. 20. 

Dead Fcetus. 

This illustration represents the head line and crotchet 
hooks placed behind the shoulder, which gives the oper- 
ator more power and a firm hold. If the foetal tissue is 
in any way softened or decomposed, the crotchets get 
hold of the back part of the shoulder blade, and the cen- 
tre cord, pulling firm over the shoulder, gets such a 
hold that the dead foetus is soon extracted. The sooner 
the better, as soon as it is known the foetus is dead. 
Violent efforts of the mother to expel it, and the danger 
to her life by blood-poisoning are thus avoided. I pre- 
fer linen cords as the best, either for the crotchet or 
repeller. As explaining the use of this instrument, 1 
was called at 2 a. m. one cold morning in February, and 
found a heavy Clydesdale mare in distress. On exami- 
nation I found the two fore legs and the hind feet in the 
upper side of the vulva opening with the hind legs in 
the floor of the vagina, firmly wedged. A block and 
tackle were awaiting my arrival, as it was thought that 
they would be required. The owner and attendants 
insisted that I should use them, but I did not. I got the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 91 

assistance of one man to push the fore part of the foetus 
back into the uterus after I had corded the hind pastern 
joints. We accomplished that part of the operation 
with great difficulty, as the more we pushed, the more 
the mare strained. We managed to accomplish our 
object by getting the fore feet well forward into the 
uterus, drawing the tail between the hind legs. In a 
few minutes she was sately delivered of a full-grown, 
large colt. Had we used excessive exertion, or cut the 
colt to pieces, as some have done, we most assuredly 
should have lost the mare. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



Hind Limb Deviation— Anterior Presentation. 

In nearly every case the preservation of the mother 
is the first object, the life of the foetus, if yet alive when 
the practitioner arrives, being quite a secondary consid- 
eration. It must be admitted that if he is present when 
the colt or calf is vigorous and alive, no time should be 
lost in delivery, especially if it is not far advanced in 
the pelvic cavity. Should the sac not be broken, and 
the liquor amnii still in place, there is every chance to 
save the colt. Have instruments and assistants ready. 
Break the water sac, and in the shortest space of time 
use every endeavor to deliver the colt. We often find 



92 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

that the best bred (or, I may say blooded) colts are the 
most vigorous. Should you fail in bringing the fore 
feet in place, be sure to get the head free of the pelvic 
canal, so as to prevent suffocation. Lock the head with 
a pair of reins, if no other appliance is at hand ; draw 
the head clean out, slip your finger across the mouth, 
press the tongue into the mouth, then get hold of each 
foot, and, in five minutes, delivery is performed, and 
both dam and colt are saved. We often have other 
cases to attend to, that, if all went well, we never should 
have had. Necessity compelled the owner to call for 
our services, and the result is often different. Figure 8 
is an illustration of a condition that often terminates 
fatally to dam and colt. When anterior presentation 
takes place, and the fore foot is presented, followed 
closely by the hind foot or feet, unless the veterinary 
surgeon is well experienced in obstetrics, foetal 
dystokia supervenes and mare and colt are sure 
to be lost. Some reason is trumped up by an 
unskilled person as the cause. The mare can usu- 
ally be saved if proper care, service, and attention are 
given. In such a case loop the head to prevent the colt, 
whether alive or dead, from turning on its back and 
causing much difficulty in the parturition, because of 
torsion. Get the fore foot corded ; then take the corn- 
pressure and push the colt back mto the uterus, so as to 
be able to draw the other fore foot in place ; press 
against the flank in order not to push the head too far 
back and prevent you from getting the fore foot. After 
you have pressed the foetus back into the centre of the 
uterus, take care not to cord a hind foot. When all is 
ready draw the head well into the pelvis, taking care 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 93 

that the cords are kept tight on the fore feet, so as to 
prevent either one or the other from getting bent up, 
causing the knees to project forward. Then you are 
into worse difficulty than ever. In this case you will 
have to use the compressure. In the meantime the 
walls of the vagina will be becoming dry, and you must 
use fresh lard freely, there and on your own arms, which 
will greatly assist the delivery. There are some cases 
where the above process cannot be used. You will then 
have to resort to extreme measures, being obliged to 
use the double hooks. They are called crotchet for- 
ceps, and the instrument is firmly placed, either behind 
each jaw or shoulder blade. The loop over the head is 
by far the best, as there is no need for both loop and 
forceps on the head when the swollen shoulders of the 
foal cause the difficulty. By being placed behind the 
shoulder the forceps get a firm hold, and the cord that 
binds each crotchet assists to hold the part, and gives 
a far better purchase to the assistant. The reason that 
we cannot use a pair of forceps, as does the human ac- 
coucher, is because the heads of all domestic animals 
are flat-sided, and two-bladed forceps slip off every 
time. There are a great many forceps used by French 
veterinarians, which, I think, are really useless, as the 
instruments here described can be made by an ordinary 
shoeing smith, and by the stock-owner himself. Some- 
times one must have recourse to cutting the foetus in 
pieces in the uterus, but by attending to these rules 
there is seldom need for any such work, as there is 
every provision made for expulsion of the foetus, either 
at or before maturity. 



94 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



Milk Fever. 

As calving time approaches, the careful dairyman 
will watch the condition and surroundings of his cows 
with the greatest solicitude. If the cow is a heavy 
milker the necessity for his most watchful attention will 
be all the more needed, and all his knowledge and ex- 
perience should be brought to bear to get her through 
this most critical period. That fell disease, milk fever, 
the terror of dairymen, is ever ready to snatch from us 
the best of our herds. It rarely reaches forth for a 
poor cow, but calls for the pride of the stables. We 
never see a poor cow of the skin-and-bone character 
take it, as she is always looking for something to eat. 
It is said that veterinarians are at a loss to prescribe 
successfully as to its use. I wish it to be understood 
that the moment the cow shows symptoms of sickness 
it is then too late ; the mischief has been done. The 
circulation has taken up the natural secretion, and is 
carrying it through the system. In our investigations 
of milk fever, parturient fever, or puerperal fever, we 
have seen the serum in the shape of milk oozing out of 
the solid muscles of the shoulders, when cut into after 
death, which clearly verifies our position, by proving 
that, instead of the milk being healthily secreted, it is 
taken up, and as an effort to throw off the disease over- 
powers the secreting glands, and, instead of allaying 
the fever, it adds to its intensity by being thrown into 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 95 

the muscullar and cellular tissues. The brain suffers 
most, as the moment the cow becomes prostrate, she is 
unable to recognize anything, even her own calf. At 
this stage few animals are saved. The milk is often 
said to be dried up ; one cannot draw a drop from the 
udder, every muscle is blazing hot, or a deadly dew 
pervades' the whole skin. Prevention is better than 
cure, b}^ giving remedies that will reduce the secreting 
powers of the glands at the proper time previous to 
parturition. If the cow is fat, or has been a great 
milker, more attention ought to be exercised in pre- 
venting the disease. Begin three weeks previous to 
her time of calving and give her Stuart's Preventive 
against milk fever. You will not injure any cow by 
beginning too early. Nor will you in any way discom- 
mode the cow by keeping it up after parturition. Bet- 
ter be sure than to run the risk of losing the cow. 
There are several points to be considered. If the cow 
is in a plethoric condition when pregnant, in early 
spring, when kept in the barn, her daily feed must be 
such as mash feed, of ground grain. But above every- 
thing that tends to aggravate the disease her bowels 
must be kept loose. Drench her with flaxseed and bran 
in small quantities, to control the bowels and ward off 
fever by accelerating the digestive activity of the stom- 
ach. Continue the same for ten days after parturition. 
Again, we have heavy milkers in all breeds of cattle 
over which we must keep a watchful eye, as they re- 
quire strengthening and stimulating food to support 
them through the severe ordeal of parturition. They 
have not gained in condition and strength, in conse- 
quence of their heavy milking all through tlie previous 



96 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

season. Such cows ought to be dried up two months 
previous to parturition, as a matter of justice to the 
system, and a sure and better plan of reaping the full 
benefit in the coming season. About the end of May 
and the beginning of June, when the pasture is most 
luxuriant, cows that map be coming in require the most 
attention, as even a very light milking cow may be the 
subject of parturient fever. But should she be show- 
ing symptoms of an enlarged udder, keep her off the 
pasture as much as you think will be best for her by 
keeping her in the barn on half feed, which is enough 
for her, for fourteen days before, and till ten days after 
calving. She will have come to her full flow of milk 
then, the pressure and hard garget feeling never having 
been felt ; she can then be put on to full feed, and all 
risk and anxiety on the part of the owner are at an end. 
When a cow comes into full milk, for the first three 
months she should never be exposed to a chilling rain, 
as she is just as apt to be attacked with milk fever in its 
worst form as if she had parturition as the forerunner. 
Where a calf is not to be brought up by suckling the 
cow, it should never be allowed to suckle, but be taken 
from the cow at birth, preventing the craving and wor- 
rying of the cow for her calf sure to occur if he should 
be allowed to suck for a week or so. It is not good 
practice in a domestic state any way, as the calf can be 
fed with the cow's milk three times a day, and at the 
same natural temperature as if the calf drew it from the 
teats, and there will be less fear of either garget or blind 
teats in the cow's udder, being carefully milked every 
time. A calf for the first week cannot be expected to 
consume all the milk an ordinary cow will give, there- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



97 



fore the udder ought to be milked clean at least twice. 
We see that sometimes when a calf is getting- a full sup- 
ply of milk, it will seem partial to certain teats, leaving 
the others undrawn. The result soon shows itself by 
the quarter becoming hard, and when the teat is hand- 
drawn it gives curdled milk. 



CHAPTER XLV, 




. Fig. 21. 

Puerperal Fever in Swine. 

In by-gone days it was quite common to let the sow 
take care of herself and rest wherever she saw fit. She 
was always at home, whether in her neighbor's wood 
or her owner's ; it did not matter, if water cresses or 
acorns could be had. Luxury on her part or her pro- 
geny's was unknown, and her nomadic life from infancy 
was unrestricted. Confinement was monotonous and 
provoked ill-temper. Puerperal fever was unknown. 



98 - THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

Her time of parturition was of little consequence, and 
her whereabouts were never thought of. Among a lot 
of leaves was nestled her offspring. Should she be 
surprised by either man or dog, a respectable distance 
was a safe motto, as the old saw-backed dam was sure 
to challenge the intruder. But as time rolled on she 
would show up with her long-legged family, and make 
a call at the old log cabin for food. iVnything in the 
shape of either animal or vegetable food did not come 
amiss. A dead carcass drawn to the woods, even a 
dead dog, was a luxury. But when forced into domes- 
tication it was a serious punishment until she got fat, 
and then she became content, but was seldom recon- 
ciled to be handled, and when the pork barrel became 
empty, the rifle had to be used instead of the silent 
knife, and it was very common for the neighbors to at- 
tend the wake through curiosity. Lard was then a 
scarce commodity in a commercial point, and a dead 
hog was as great a curiosity in those days as a dead 
donkey is at the present time. The intelligence of the 
agricultural classes has overcome alL these short-com- 
ings, and the improvement of our porcine stock is the 
admiration of every nation. But Avhat with over-feed- 
ing, inbreeding and confinement, puerperal fever is a 
common result ; over-feeding and carelessness previous 
to parturition, the want of suitable attention for the 
first few days after farrowing, are great causes of this 
disease. The anatomy of the hog is very different 
from either the horse or cow, or other animal that only 
brings forth one young at a time. The separation of 
eight or ten umbilical cords produces an effect little 
thought of, and the care required at such a time is not 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 99 

given to the animal as she deserves. Every breeder 
ought to have suitable accommodation for the comfort 
of all their domestic animals, and the improved breeds 
of hogs are as much deserving of comfort as any farm 
stock. I question if any stock will pay better for the 
food and care bestowed than the hog. A little sulphur, 
sulphate of iron, gentian powder, or a simple condi- 
ment, is quite atonic for a hog in confinement, or even 
in the winter when she cannot get vegetable food. 
The pen in which the sow is confined should have a 
protective rail around it. It often happens that when 
a hog makes her nest previous to farrowing, she chooses 
the corner of her pen, and as the young are brought 
forth unless a careful attendant is present to remove 
them they are crushed in the struggles of the mother, 
and for two or three weeks there is danger of the young 
pigs being crushed against the sides of the pen. This 
is obviated by placing a rail around the outside of the 
pen, a foot from the floor, and ten or twelve inches 
from the sides. With this protection the sow can be 
left alone with comparative safet}^ Care in protective 
measures would save millions of dollars annually. The 
best kept and improved breeds are the most apt to kill 
and smother their young. The sow is as careful of her 
progeny as any other animal. Every time she wishes 
to lie down and suckle her pigs, she spreads them with 
her nose, and although they may be rolled against the 
side of the pen, no harm can happen to them on account 
of the rail protection. In two or three weeks the rail 
can be removed, as the pigs are then able in a great 
measure to take care of themselves. Remove the feed- 
ing trough immediately after feeding, so that no injury 



lOO THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

can be occasioned by it. Teach the pigs to feed from 
the trough as soon as possible, so as not to depend on 
the sow for their entire support. Feed her all she will 
eat one week after farrowing. And never forget to 
give her oats or oatmeal, as that is what makes bone. 
Overfeeding sows with corn only produces pigs that 
are almost unable to stand up, and are often treated for 
kidney worms. A little lime water is good for an in- 
pig sow ; it will renovate the system and strengthen 
the bones. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 



Puerperal Fever in Cows. 

Every one that has lost cattle asks the question 
whether diseases are cured by art or nature ? Perhaps 
no disease was ever cured by art, but art may so mod- 
ify the pathological condition that the recuperative 
powers of the system can thereby induce salutary 
changes, without which they cannot be effected so 
readily ; thus art, when und^rstandingly applied, may 
be said to aid nature. Puerperal fever, the scourge of 
the dairy, never affects the animal in poor condition, 
but takes the best conditioned animals oi the herd, and 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. lOI 

always the best milkers and greatest favorites. By 
observing the following advice the calamity can be 
averted in every case, and thousands of dollars saved. 
Milk fever takes place in every instance after par- 
turition, never before, as the separation of the umbili- 
cal cord has diverted the secretions of the body to 
another channel, but owing to a pathological disturb- 
ance and plethoric (or fatty) condition, inflammation sets 
in and the cow gets down, disowning her offspring, 
throwing her head from flank to manger, and dashing 
her head on the ground, moaning in agony and distress, 
often covered all over with perspiration ; a dry muzzle 
and hot horns, cold limbs and bounding pulse. The 
first step to be taken is to introduce a well-oiled hand 
into the anus, and remove all the faeces that can be 
reached. Give a warm injection ; also give ten drops 
of tincture of aconite in a tablespoonful of cold water 
every half hour, and bathe the head with cold water, 
or apply an ice-bag, if it can be had. Foment the ud- 
der with warm water, and draw all the milk that can 
be got, in order to attract all the fluids of the blood to 
the udder. I have occasionally given half an ounce of 
tincture of opium in three ounces of cold water, and it 
gave immediate relief. But this is an extreme meas- 
ure that ought at all times to be guarded against. Ev- 
ery cow, previous to calving, should be kept loose in 
the bowels, as no living man ever saw a cow that was 
kept loose previous to calving, take milk fever, how- 
ever fat. But I wish it to be understood that medi- 
cal treatment previous to calving is a safe plan. I do 
not advocate starvation, but if the cow be costive, take 
two pounds of slippery elm bark, boil for four or live 



102 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

hours, in two gallons of water ; boil four quarts of 
bran; take one quart of the slippery elm decoction, 
add to the bran, and give to the cow in every case of 
constipation for one week or ten days before calving. 
Another good plan is to give two quarts of boiled 
bran and one quart of molasses or syrup for a few days 
before calving. The Barbadoes or Cape aloes, salts, 
jalap, salt pork, oil, or other unnatural medical poisons 
create nausea, and result in fever and disease. 

The treatment of puerperal fever in bygone days 
was a disgrace to the veterinary profession. The most 
abominable drugs in all the materia medica were pre- 
scribed. It was held that the sheet anchor in puerperal 
convulsions is the purge and lancet, the depleting agents 
of death. Many a noble short-horn has paid the pen- 
alty of this fool-hardy treatment. The practice of the 
once acknowledged authorities will not stand the test of 
modern medical logic. It is contrary to intelligent ex- 
perience and common sense, and will soon je a thing 
of the past. To cure prolapsus uteri or inversion of 
the uterus in the cow or mare, it is necessary to raise 
the hind parts of the animal by raising the floor. The 
inclined plane is made of boards four feet long and ele- 
vated ten inches at the rear. Make the stall three and 
a half or four feet wide, so that the cow cannot get out 
of position, and thus cause a relapse and consequent 
metritis or inflammation of uterus. Never give medi- 
cines to cause contraction of the parts. This contri- 
vance avoids the use of the rope truss and other appli- 
ances of so-called medical science. All females are 
subject to vaginal weakness, either from disease, acci- 
dent, or parturition. Any young cow that shows vag- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 103 

inal weakness can be thus stabled till nature has 
restored strength to the parts. A collar, with a ring 
slipped over an upright pole in front, of the stall, will 
allow the animal to raise the head up and down, but 
prevents much forward and backward movement. This 
is the successful modern plan instead of the painful 
truss or stitched vulva. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



Question and Answer. 

The Ewe Flock. — " P." says : — I have lost two ewes 
in lamb from excessive protrusion, prolapsus of vagina, 
etc. The first affected died about a fortnight after the 
commencement of the protrusion without slipping her 
lamb. The second became affected this last week, and 
appeared to be suffering so much that I ordered it to 
be killed. She should have lambed within six or eight 
weeks. All attempts to replace the prolapsed portions 
were immediately followed by straining and fresh pro- 
trusion. Under such condition of parts, can any bene- 
fit be derived from local or general treatment ? 

Although this is a very serious affection when oc- 



104 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

curring in in-lamb ewes, many cases do well if treated 
in the following manner : As soon as the protrusion is 
observed, carefully cleanse and return it. 

Prolapsus Uteri — I have a valuable mare that has 
a protrusion from the vagina. It showed itself after I 
brought her in from a sleigh ride yesterday. She is five 
months gone in colt, and I am anxious about her, as I 
am told it will cause abortion. She has a warm box 
stall and good care. Please give me your valuable 
advice. 

Straining and slipping on the snow is not proper 
work for a mare in her state. As she has shown threat- 
ening signs of aborting, you will only require to give 
her walking exercise. Keep her in an open stall with 
the hind feet raised one foot higher than the fore feet. 
Do not feed her much soft feed, as you are apt to bring 
on lactation in a premature form and result in partu- 
rient fever. 

Farmers should look carefully after their mares in 
foal during the next few months. If ice forms in the 
yard where they exercise, or around the watering tubs, 
keep it covered with gravel, ashes, or manure from the 
stable. See that the entrance to their stalls is so ar- 
ranged that there is no danger of striking the animals' 
sides against them when coming in from the yard. 

It is one of the most difficult cases of lameness to 
diagnose where a horse or mare has slipped and spread 
their fore feet, wrenching their costal muscles between 
the fore legs. 



io6 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 




Fig. 23, 

Ecthyma or Simplex, Pustulae Ekttption on the Arms 
OF Veterinarians from Contact t\t:th the Yagina in 
Protracted Labor. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. IO7 

This pustular eruption occurs on the arms of veter- 
inary surgeons from contact with the vagina in cases of 
protracted labor. The following was written by Profes- 
sor John Gamgee, lecturer on veterinary medicine and 
surgery in the new veterinary college, Edinburgh, 
Scotland : 

" On the 23rd of November, 1857, I was requested 
to attend a cow which had been in labor more than 36 
hours. I saw her at 9:30 a. m., and was told that on Sat- 
urday evening, about five o'clock, she was observed to 
have pains, and efforts to expel the foetus were power- 
ful. One of the dairymen passed his hand up the 
vagina to feel if all was right. The calf's head was pre- 
senting itself, the little animal making attempts to suck 
the man's finger. No more notice was taken of the 
cow until the next morning, when it was perceived 
that the feet of the calf were passing forward through 
the vagina, and on introducing the hand the head could 
not be felt. Many attempts were made to reach it, but 
all to no purpose, and a farrier was called in. This 
man explored, and accusing others of great ignorance, 
declared the limbs in the vagina to be the hind limbs 
and not the fore limbs. Accordingly, ropes were ob- 
tained, tied on to the limbs, and great efforts were made 
to extract the foetus. One of the men connected with 
the dairy, not satisfied, examined carefully, and said he 
felt one of the calf's ears, and that the head was turned 
back. The farrier having worked for several hours, a 
dairyman, who, with some reason, claims great dexter- 
ity in delivering cows, was called on the evening of 
Sunday, the 22d. He found the protruding limbs to be 
fore ones, and the head to be bent back. (It was in the 



I08 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

same position as we represent in Fig. 9, ' A.nterior 
Presentation — Extreme Downward Deviation of the 
Head.' We have had several cases of this kind in 
Cleveland and surrounding country, and we have saved 
a majority of the colts and calves, but we have not lost 
either mare or cow ; all the dams were saved.) But 
he could not feel the hind feet as the farrier supposed 
he did, and hence could not ascertain its real position. 
He tried to get at the head, but all attempts failed, 
having done all he could for several hours. On Prof. 
John Gamgee's reaching the byre at 9:30 a. m. Monday 
morning, the cow was found lying with the vulva 
swollen, and two feet of the calf protruding. (At 
this moment, when the attendant sees the presentation, 
ascertain the position of the head. Do not on any ac- 
count pull on the feet, as the dam will strain until she 
is exhausted and become prostrated. If it is presented 
so that you are sure of position, should it be a one-sided 
presentation, cord the feet so as not to lose your hold 
by the foetus struggling or turning in your effort to get 
the head up, either by using the head loop or the hook 
Fig. II. I do not use the hook if I possibly can help it- 
if I find the foetus alive. I prefer the head loop ; and 
in this way that cow and calf could easily have been 
saved.) The Professor got the cow up on her feet; hav- 
ing tied a cord round each fetlock, the hand was passed 
up, having warmed and greased it with butter. It was 
with great difhculty, says the Professor, that I got my 
hand into the uterus, all the parts being hot, dry, and 
swollen. The calf was dead. The throes and strain- 
ing of the dam were violent. I felt the sternum, and, 
of course, the head was bent back to the right, and by 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. lOQ 

the severe attempts that had been made to pull the calf 
away the neck had been twisted, and the head pushed 
back as far as it could be. I attempted, by grasping the 
skin and fixing the hooks, to draw the neck and head 
forward, but could not succeed. I had no room to work 
in, and the cow, though subject to uterine contractions, 
was fast becoming exhausted, and in a sinking state. I 
decided on performing embryotomy and promptly 
removed both extremities by dissecting the skin back 
from the fetlock, separating over the left shoulder and 
taking away one leg after the other. I had hoped to 
have had more space to work in, so as to relieve the 
cow quickly ; but the swelling was so great, and by this 
time the cow was so exhausted that she could not keep 
on her feet. I decided to let her rest two hours, after 
bathing the genital organs with tepid water. I returned 
at 10 o'clock and found the owner trying to sell the cow 
to a butcher. She was much exhausted, and I intro- 
duced my hand with a bestourito attempt the exporta- 
tion of the calf's sternum and its removal, but my arm 
was so firmly grasped in the swollen passage that it 
was impossible. And a very intelligent student, M. S., 
whose arm was much smaller than mine, also made 
several attempts, but to no purpose. 

*' I did not entertain any thought that the cow would 
recover if we were successful in delivering her, and the 
proprietor was determined to have her destroyed, so she 
was left quiet till the evening, when a butcher carried 
her off. About nine o'clock the same evening I felt a 
strong itching sensation on my right arm ; my left arm 
was affected also, and on examining my arms, I found 
the skin the seat of a diffused rash. Next morning the 



1 10 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

redness had augmented on both arms, but chiefly on the 
right ; and the pruriency was replaced by pain. On 
the Tuesday evening an abundance of small circum- 
scribed pimples had formed, which suppurated on the 
Wednesday. By the afternoon of the 25th they were 
well-formed pustules. Fig. 23 represents the arm as it 
was on the morning of the 27th. The pustules were 
large, distinct, full of matter, and surrounded by a red 
areola. Both arms were very painful, the axillary 
glands slightly swollen, and I suffered in health. On 
the right arm the pustules were very numerous, but 
less so on the left. I was prevented lecturing for some 
time. My arms were daily dressed with diacetate of 
lead lotion and opium. This relieved the pain some- 
what, but the pustules attained the size of large peas. 
Others became encrusted with a brown, scaly scab, 
and others, on bursting, left behind a cicatrizing sore. 
I was tormented for six weeks, when the only existing 
eruption was the brown appearance of the skin where 
the pustules had existed. Early in March, however, at 
a spot on the inside of my right arm just above the el- 
bow, where the redness had not completely subsided, a 
large boil formed, which, on being opened, was found 
to contain considerable slough. This boil was attended 
with much pain, and healed very tardily. I am not the 
only person that suffered, for on the Wednesday Mr. S. 
complained of the itching, and he afterward suffered 
from the same pustular eruptions on the arms. On the 
second week after I met the dairyman that had the cow 
with his arm in a poultice. He had suffered much from 
an active eruption similar to the one I have described 
affecting both arms. The man that attended the cow, 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. Ill 

the farrier and dairyman, and every one that in any way 
came in contact with the virus, were affected in a similar 
manner." 

I have since collected the histories of a few more 
cases, which I will here describe, as they well deserve 
very thoughtful study, as the nature of the contaminat- 
ing agent has yet to be discovered. In the Berlin Mag- 
azine Fur die Gesammet Thierheilkunde for 1845, ^^ P^S^ 
170, Mr. Luthens gives the history of an unusual pus- 
tular eruption on his arm after attending animals in 
labor. He concluded with the following sentence: ''I 
was so severely affected after attending to a mare, that 
I was for a long time ill, and I therefore think the case 
worthy of being recorded." 

Herr Luthens again suffers on March 14, 1858. 
M. Herturg adds his testimony, having suffered by at- 
tending to cases where the animal had been in labor for 
several days. Dr. Weber, of Frankfort ; Kaubner, of 
Eldena ; Arnsberg, of Barteristetin, and Kuper, of Ere- 
feld, all report similar troubles resulting from attend- 
ance on mares and cows that had been more than twenty 
hours in labor, whose genital organs were swollen in a 
state of asthenic inflammation. The liquor amnii 
had been evacuated long before, and the young was 
dead, and in some cases the colts or calves were in an 
advanced state of putrefaction. (I have invented a pair 
of clawed forceps with a sliding ring that greatly assist 
the practitioner, and, if the colt or calf is dead, it will 
assuredly, in every case, relieve the animal of the dead 
foetus, even if it should be ten or eleven months gone, 
and save every dam. 

I have numerous reports of persons being affected 



112 THE STOCKBREEDERS MANUAL. 

in the same way as described by Prof. Gamgee. I advise 
every stock owner to assist any animal immediately on 
presentation, as by so doing the strength of the dam 
will assist the operator to a quick and safe delivery. 
In order for an}' one to avoid being contaminated by 
the infection of the eruptive poison, and risking his life, 
he should always be prepared by providing himself and 
assistants with palm oil and chloride of lime, pre- 
vious to exploring the genital organ. The best 
remedy to prevent any febrile eruptions is to use gar- 
goline. I have been saved times without number when 
the animal was the subject of puerperal fever. The 
severity of this disease affecting the human species 
after assisting an animal m parturition suggests the fol- 
lowing questions : What is the nature of the poison 
which thus irritates the skin and induces the pustules? 
Is the contaminating agent the same in man and ani- 
mals ? What is the nature of the disease , induced ? 
What light do these cases throw on the diseases atten- 
dant on parturition? In answer to the first I will say 
that the systematic excitement and exhaustion are 
attended with such a fundamental alteration in the solids 
and fluids of the body, the nature of which may be ex- 
pressed as a partial loss of vitality, that such animal 
tissues, when inflammation has set in, prove injurious 
if brought in contact with other living animal tex- 
utres. I do not consider the change a local one for 
the following reasons: The animal suffering from the 
pains of labor for many hours becomes exhausted and 
worn out, especially after the ignorant interference of 
an attendant when too late, frequently perish, not- 
withstanding delivery has been accomplished. The 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. II3 

cause of death is called metritis, but the animal rapidly 
sinks in a manner for which inflammation of the womb 
alone can scarcely account. The flesh of all such cows 
has been proved to be injurious if eaten by men. In 
support of this statement I shall simply refer to Noirot's 
report: ''On the 17th of June, 1856, at the castle of 
Gruneberg, district of Prenzlau, Prussia, a cow that 
could not be delivered of her calf, although attended to 
by a veterinary surgeon, was slaughtered and used as 
human food, cooked in different ways. All that partook 
of the meat became sick within twenty-four hours after, 
with colicky pains, severe vomiting and diarrhoea. A 
surgeon was called and pronounced it cholera. He 
dined at the castle, ate of the cow, and shortly after was 
seized with the same symptoms as his patients. On the 
evening of the 21st of June, Dr. Rehfeldt, of Prenzlau, 
was called to attend the sick at the castle, forty in num- 
ber, all that had eaten of the cow. All showed the 
same symptoms of diarrhoea, yellow and watery stools, 
burning sensations in the stomach , intense suffering, in- 
satiable thirst, vertigo, cephalalgia, excessive debility, 
almost amounting to paralysis, pale cold faces, sunken 
eyes, hollow cheeks, and a small and accelerated pulse. 
Investigation of the case clearly brought to light that 
none but those that partook of the cow beef were sick, 
and that no disease of any kind similar to it was to be 
found in the country. It was seen in this case that the 
intensity of the symptoms in each case was in propor- 
tion to the quantity of the meat eaten. In no case 
had the symptoms showed themselves in less than six 
hours after eating the meat. All the circumstances in- 
dicated the introduction of a poison into the blood, and 



114 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

that poisonous principle existed in the flesh of the cow. 
All the kitchen utensils were carefully examined, but 
nothing found to indicate such a result. A further 
proof became patent: a quantity of raw beef was sent 
to five persons at a little distance away. One of these, 
a woman that was sufiering from a chronic disease, 
died, while all that partook of the same meat were 
taken sick with all the symptoms of the cholera. At 
the time of the medical investigation, a few days after 
the disease^ had overwhelmed all that ate the meat, a 
search was made for the generative organs, but they 
could not be found. The chemical analysis gave no re- 
sult from the flesh. It is generally understood that in 
puerperal fever gangrene of the uterus sets in, and the 
putridity of the fever is not easily destroyed or ren- 
dered inert by cooking in any way or manner. In this 
case cooking did not destroy the poisonous principle of 
the meat." 

This instance serves to show how dangerous it is to 
allow diseased animals to be sold to the butcher. With 
the exception of two persons, all that were taken got 
well after long-protracted suffering. We find similar 
effects result from eating flesh of oxen that have been 
over-driven, and, perhaps, when animals die of disease, 
and have been poisoned, the poisonous nature of the 
flesh may depend as much on the exhaustion preceding 
death as on any accidental poison. The local irritation 
would, therefore, not be essential to the production of 
the disease by a similar venom. Although the most 
common form of parturient fever in animals is known 
to occur in well nourished cows that have had no diffi- 
culty in labor, still many cases which have been set 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. II5 

down as cases of metritis, accompanied by putrid fever, 
are similar to those in which the conditions of the sys- 
tem carry danger in the introduction of the arm into the 
vagina. The carcasses of animals that have died from 
parturient fever, like those of animals dying from pro- 
tracted labor, are poisonous, and induce enteric disor- 
ders, if eaten. It appears to me that the poison belongs 
to a distinct class, the most characteristic of which is 
the cadaveric venom, which has cost the life of so many 
zealous students of anatomy. It cannot be classed with 
the small-pox virus, which is capable of repeatedly in- 
ducing a similar disease in a number of individuals, by 
passing through their systems one after another. So 
far as experiments have gone, it is essential that the 
skin of man be brought in contact with the genital 
organs of the lower animals, in order that the eruption 
may present itself. Inoculation of this matter devel- 
oped in the arm of man has failed to produce a similar 
disease on the person inoculated. Another most im- 
portant distinction is that the varioloid poison does give 
rise to a very definite lesion, a disease having a regular 
course, only modified according to the degree of its 
malignancy ; and there is no proof that the varioloid 
poison introduced into the alimentary canal induces 
anything different from varioloid disease. Moreover, 
the constitutional effects from the introduction of small- 
pox poison into the system are as characteristic as the 
local, whereas the irritative and the putrid fevers at- 
tendant on dissection wounds, certain forms of partu- 
rient fevers, and the fevers in cases of eruptions, such 
as we have described, are by no means characteristic. 
We cannot deny ^ certain degree of resemblance be- 



Il6 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

Iween the various effects of the element which proves 
visitating to the hand or arm of the veterinary surgeon 
or physician accoucheur. No doubt there is great sim- 
ilarity in the condition of the system attendant on pro- 
tracted labor in the human female and our domestic 
animals. The similarity is probably quite as great as 
between some of the forms of fever attendant on partu- 
rition, which are proved to be contagious. As regards 
the human being, it has also been demonstrated that 
there is some similarity between the cadaveric poison 
and the puerperal. After adducing strong arguments 
in favor of the contagious nature of the epidemic, peri- 
tonitis, among women, the late Dr. Watson says: *' It is 
my opinion that putrefaction is entirely opposed to the 
development of the genuine cadaveric venom." We 
cannot perceive material difference between putrefac- 
tive changes in the body of man and the body of a horse. 
We may dissect as many horses as we like, wounding 
ourselves each time (unless they be glandered), without 
suffering. Occasionally a dissection wound produced 
when dividing the tissues of a horse may suppurate, 
but we have observed that this results generally when 
peculiar circumstances, such as breathing foul air, etc., 
have seriously affected the system of the dissector. 
However, it is clear that animal matter introduced 
into the animal economy induces typhus fever with 
complete destruction of the assimilative power, etc., 
very different from the effects of the irritating dis- 
charge of the genital organs, or even the putrid fever 
attendant on protracted labor. With reference to the 
nature of the disease induced by the poisonous ele- 
ments from the genital organs in protracted labor, it is 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. II7 

either a local pustular eruption, with more or less se- 
vere symptomatic irritative fever, or, if the animal be 
diseased, a peculiar poison may contaminate the skin 
through contact with the mucous membrane of the vagi- 
na, causing malignant pustule. In the human being we 
find a veritable puerperal poison, which may be similar 
or identical with the poison inducing the eruptions 
named, which may adhere to the hands of the accouch- 
eur and contaminate healthy women. The facts are 
clearly proved that many a woman has lost her life by 
the hands of the accoucheur who has been in attend- 
ance on a case of puerpuritis, and, being called to a 
healthy woman, did not take the precautions needful to 
prevent infection from introducing the contagion. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



Milking. 

It is believed that the best plan that the dairyman 
can adopt is to milk with dry hands, yet nature is 
averse to any such practice. Observe the calf sucking. 
He seizes the teat with the tongue lubricating first, then 
clenching the jaw together, and drawing the teat as far 
into the mouth as possible, manipulating the teat be- 
tween the tongue and upper part of the mouth, while 
the warm fluid is streaming down the throat. He gives 



Il8 THE stockbreeders' MANUAL. 

a press, always upward, at every swallow, as it were, 
coaxing the udder to give the milk at every press. 
Dry milking is no doubt a very uncomfortable feeling 
to the cow, and is the cause of sometimes making her 
very uneasy. Should the teat be scratched, or have a 
little sore on it, the irritation is much more aggravated 
than if it had been first lubricated, so as to make the 
teat soft and smooth. A teat that happens to have a 
wart, although very uncomfortable to milk in any way, 
is much more so if milked dry. When a teat is sore, 
either with scratches, pocks, or sores, it should always 
be milked last, and if blood or matter is present, every 
drop of such milk ought to be put out of the way, as it 
IS not fit for a dog. Every one knows by experience 
that a cow will give her milk more freely if the teat is 
lubricated than if dry. Experienced dairymen say that 
milking dry is a preventive against sore teats, but that 
is a mistake. 



CHAPTER L. 



DlARRHCEA IN CALVES. 

A question put to me was : " What is the reason 
my calves are not doing well? They are troubled with 
continual scouring, losing flesh, and they smell badly. 
We have our cows on the best of clover pasture during 
the day, two miles from the barn, and they come home 
every night, lying out on an old pasture field near the 
barn. Although our milk is the best, and the calves 
are not stinted, we find several calves with scours, and 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. IIQ 

they become so emaciated that they die. We have 
given them linseed oil, soda, saleratus, and a whole drug 
store load of aloes by the advice of our veterinary sur- 
geon, but without good effect. Will you give us your 
opinion of the case?" 

It is a wonder that they have a calf alive, on ac- 
count of the hygienic treatment of the cows and the 
ignorant advice they received from your inexperienced 
veterinarian. The cows travel too far with their bags 
distended with milk. It becomes overheated, fevered, 
and unfit for human food, far less for calves. The milk 
retained in the bag for twelve hours becomes poison- 
ous, and although the calves are on pasture, they are 
greedy for their milk, so that the contents of their stom- 
achs become overcharged with acidity, the fevered 
milk aggravates the trouble and poisons the young ani- 
mals. Aloes, oils, and laxatives of that nature were in- 
jurious of themselves. Had the owner given a raw egg 
beaten with ten drops of opium at the first appearance 
of scouring, and kept the calf shut up quiet, that would 
have stopped it. In an advanced state the disease re- 
quires more stringent measures. It would be better 
for the cows to remain on the pasture, and be milked 
there rather than to travel four miles a day. They 
travel all day, till tired, when grazing. The milk would 
then be more fit for feeding calves than in a fevered 
state. We wish the attention of every stock-breeder 
that may read this. We prescribed lime water to the 
cows, and to keep them on the pasture instead of travel- 
ing the hot, dusty road, as a point of economy, as the 
owner thought, and to prevent his losing all his young 
stock. There is nothing better than a drink of lime 



120 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

water daily, either for a mare in colt, or a mare with 
colt at foot, or a cow where her calf is suckling or being 
fed from the pail. Every experienced dairyman knows 
full well that butter will come easily in hot weather, 
when cows feed on soils that contain a proportion of 
lime. They are never troubled with difficult churning, 
the butter comes hard and firm. Give everv calf two 
months old one tablespoonful of epsom salts, one pint 
of well-boiled flaxseed, and half-pound of black molas- 
ses, with a sufficient quantity of boiled milk added, and 
in a few hours all is well. The rumbling or peristaltic 
action of the bowels will have subsided, and the young- 
ling will commence to ruminate. Every stock-breeder 
will find it to his advantage to have a trough or tub 
filled with cold water and a lump of lime thrown in, so 
that any of their farm stock may have access to it ; but 
remember, an excess of lime will cause gravel. We 
have proved time and again that a fevered cow's milk 
will cause summer complaint in children. A month 
later we learned that our advice was carried out to the 
letter, and every one of the seven calves that were 
alive when he received our advice had lived and done 
well. He says he had lost five calves, and some of the 
best three were Duchesses, and two were Mayflowers. 
If dairymen who send milk either to the city or the 
cheese-factory will let their cows have a little lime 
water three times a week, they will see the good result 
in their cream. On the island of Jersey, the chalk soils 
of Dover, and along the French coast, the cattle are 
famed for it. If food makes a fine quality of milk, 
the soil on which it grows has something to do in sup- 
plymg an evident need. 



MISCELLANEOUS, 



THE MISCELLANEOUS 

Has been introduced in order to give a clear view 
as to the way the effect of disease is diagnosed by an 
amateur — his description and opinion in the various 
diseases of our domestic animals. It is something new, 
but will show to a great extent the reason why we have 
introduced this part in our present work. Any one 
having diseased or lamed animals can have advice how 
to treat them by consulting Dr. G. or Dr. J. T. Stuart, 
veterinary surgeons, Cleveland, Ohio. All answers 
requested by return mail must be accompanied with 
one dollar enclosed. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



sick:n:ess in swike. 

Although the tail ol a pig will not reach up to his 
head, and has not the length to switch a fly from be- 
tween his ears, yet it is the thermometer by which the 
animal's health is known. If the pig is out of sorts, 
even though he may have the appearance of feeding, 
should the tail be straight and hanging down, he is not 
doing well. The sicker the pig, the straighter the tail. 
But if the tail is curled firm, and so hard that it cannot 
even be uncoiled without springing into the same curled 
position, then the pig is in perfect health. We nevre 
see a hog with the head hanging down and ears point- 
ing to the eyes, without a straight tail. 

JBUYIN^G A HOKSE. 

I am sorry to say that little confidence is often 
placed m any individual selling a horse, as the principle 
of truth and integrity is often at a premium in horse- 
trading ; hence the necessity of a strict examination, as 

"Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn." 

The first thing to be done is to see him in his stall ; 
to ascertain whether he is a cribber or wind sucker, 
give him a handful of oats, and he will prove himself ; 
if a weaver, stand quietly behind him, and you will see 
him swinging his head from side to side of his stall ; if 



THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 125 

a kicker, you will see the mark of his kicking on the 
side of his stall ; shake the oat measure, but do not give 
him any, and that alone will bring out some of his vices 
in the stall. 

Lead him out of the stall, examine his mouth, nose, 
eyes, etc., for external defects. If the enamel is worn 
off his fore teeth, then he is a cribber ; if his eyes are of 
a whitish blue color, he is partially blind or may be 
given to shying, a very dangerous habit ; and whatever 
purpose the horse is recommended or wanted for, 
whether for riding, harness, or farm work, get a fair 
trial. You will then be able to find out some of his 
vices (if any). Get a warranty or guarantee with per- 
sonal security from the party selling, or have him care- 
fully examined by a competent veterinary surgeon. A 
horse may be sound to-day, but having been idle for 
some time before sale, he may feel good, and overwork 
himself by fretting, or be caused to work too hard and 
too long hours, and thereby become sick. Such cases 
I have known, and the horse returned, and a serious 
lawsuit be the result. Settle all cases by arbitration, if 
possible, as the price of a horse goes a short way in 
law, however good. 

A "SOUND HORSE." 

It may be hard to say what constitutes a sound 
horse, but we are positive that a horse is unsound when 
he is suffering from any chronic disease or defect, or 
weakness which prevents him from performing his daily 
work, or the kind of labor he is best adapted for. It 
must be observed that if a horse has a ringbone, spavin, 
or splint, that causes permanent lameness, or even if not 



126 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

lame, if there is exostosis of bone, although he can do 
his work, he is not a sound horse. Should a horse 
show symptoms of defective or labored breathing from 
whatever cause, he is unsound. A horse that is suffer- 
ing from thrush, atrophy of the muscles, poll-evil, 
sprain, or injury that can be cured, cannot be called 
unsound. But we would not advise any one to buy a 
horse that is suffering from any such disease or defect. 
Many a horse has had lung fever, was lamed, curbed, 
had colic, etc., that has got over these diseases, and is, 
in a manner, sound and able to do a good day's work, 
either of speed or power. But every one that exam- 
ines a horse (for whatever purpose he is buying him) 
cannot be a judge unless he is up to the tricks of the 
trade in order to detect defects. 

BKOXCHOCELE IX LAJMBS. 

Can you tell what ails my lambs ? They are born 
with a lump in the throat and die in a short time. The 
lump is so large they cannot hold their head up to 
suck. The lump, when opened, looks like the sweet- 
bread in animals. Please give a remedy if there is any 
known, and oblige a constant reader of your paper. 
* " "^ The disease from which your lambs die is 
" bronchocele" or enlargement of the thyroid glands, 
two small bodies placed on the lateral aspects of the 
wind-pipe in the region of the throat. These glands 
perform a function that is not very well understood 
during the intra-uterine life, but when a young animal 
is born they usually shrivel up and get smaller. Bron- 
chocele is not an uncommon disease in lambs, and is 
usually ascribed to the presence of magnesian lime in 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 1 2/ 

the water partaken by the dams of the young- animals, 
or feeding sheep on land containing magnesian lime- 
stone. At the same time it is also found in low, swampy 
situations. Little can be done for the lambs, as they 
are too young to bear medical treatment. 

SICKKESS m SHEEP. 

I wish to ask a question as to the nature of the 
disease among sheep, which the shepherds call in this 
part of the country "sickness." Can you tell me the 
cause and cure ? 

The disease of sheep recognized by the term " sick- 
ness" is a form of gastro-enteritis — inflammation of the 
stomach and bowels. The causes are chiefly dietetic — 
as great and sudden changes in the food supply, or the 
use of improper material. The disease is most preva- 
lent when hoggets are first placed on turnips, and in 
mild seasons when these latter are still growing. Here 
the remedy is to restrict the quantity of roots, or to 
give a little artificial food in addition. 

We find the disease on a section of heavy clay one 
year, and the next on a light loamy soil, so that we have 
never arrived at a certain conclusion what is really the 
cause. I have consulted several authors, and not one, 
either French, English, or Scotch, has any definite con- 
clusion on the cause. In France we have the gravelly 
drift, which contains a red clay, containing the sul- 
phate ; in Wales, the slate and mineral springs ; in Eng- 
land, chalk, lime, and magnesian soils, and in Scotland, 
where more care and attention to sheep are paid than 
by any other nation in the world, we find all varieties 
of soils from heavy clay on the seashore, containing the 



128 THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 

chloride of sodium, to the sweet pastures of the Cheviot 
hills. 

SHOE BOIL. 

I have a seven-year-old horse that has a swelHng 
on the point of the elbow on each fore leg. Horsemen 
tell me they are commonly called shoe boils, caused by 
the horse lying down so that the shoes lie under the 
elbow. The first boil came about one month ago. 
When ripe I had it lanced ; and it discharged matter 
freely. Soon after this one came on the other elbow, 
much larger than the first one, which I lanced, letting 
nearly or quite a gill of matter escape. This one is 
running yet, though lanced ten days ago. The openmg 
in the other closed up after running about ten days, 
leaving quite a large bunch or callus, which I noticed 
yesterday was beginning to swell again, and to-day it 
has mcreased considerably in size, I tried poulticing 
with ground flaxseed to bring the swelling to a head, 
but could not keep a poultice on, although I used new 
cotton cloth and fastened by sewing with strong thread. 
He would get it off by rubbing against side of stall. 
Will you please inform me what to do for him ? * * * 
Shoe boils are caused by pressure from the heels of the 
shoes when the horse lies down. Once the elbow gets 
bruised it is very hard to entirely remove the enlarge- 
ments, the slightest pressure being sufficient to cause 
them to swell up agam. In order to overcome the con- 
dition you must put the horse in a large stall, and have 
two padded rollers made and placed around the poste- 
rior points. They can be obtained or made to order at 
any harness maker's. Keep them continually on when 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 29 

the horse stands in the stall. The local treatment ne- 
cessary is opening the sac, and fomenting two or thtee 
times daily with hot water ; then use ossidine ointment 
as soon as you perceive any indication of a boil. If any 
other remedy in the shape of a blister is used you will 
find that it will make it worse, as it acts first on the ac- 
cumulation of calloused substances on the outside, and 
does not go in. 

SUB-ACUTE MAMMITIS. 

Please tell me what is the matter with my cow, and 
also give the proper treatment for the disease. She 
was two years old last April, and was fresh on the 8th 
of May following. For five or six months thereafter 
the milk seemed to be good. From that to the present 
time she is giving bloody milk out of the front teats. 
Sometimes the milk is good for two or three milkings, 
and then bloody for a few times. For the past week 
there seems to be something like a kernel or lump in 
the lower part of the udder, or the upper end of the 
teat, but I have not yet taken any bad milk out of the 
hind teats. The cow seems to be in good health, and 
also in good condition. The treatment that I have 
given for it has been tansy, sulphur, and saltpetre. I 
also bathed the udder with salt water. This treatment 
has been kept up about three weeks, but with no effect. 
-5f * '^ There is a sub-acute form of inflammation 
confined to the fore-quarters of the udder. Bathe the 
quarters twice daily with hot water, soap and soda, and 
use gargoline to draw out the inflammation, milking 
the teats. This treatment is correct for a mare, cow, or 



I30 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

sheep, and as a safeguard against any stoppage of the 

FILLING'S PATENT. 




SOLID COIN SILVER. 

iNO. 24, 

teats, have a silver milking tube in every teat affected. 
Discontinue the stuff you have been giving the cow. 
You are only aggravating the trouble, as your experi- 
ence has shown you. Saltpetre internally and salt 
externally are poor treatment. Feed oil meal, bran, 
and one tablespoonful of Dr. J. T. Stuart's Cleansing 
Powder mixed in her feed, the dose for a mare and two 
years old cow, but half the quantity for a ewe of any 
age. 

IKYEETED KECTUM. 

I have a two-years-old horse colt that has been on 
good pasture, and has always been healthy until the 
present ; he has apparently what on a person would be 
called a bad case of bloody piles. It is swollen as large 
as a man's two fists. I placed it back and washed it in 
cold water with alum. Will you please advise by mail ? 
Shall I change to dry feed, and what treatment shall I 
give him ? ^ ^ ^ Inversion of a portion of the rec- 
tum is the cause ot the enlargement mentioned. We 
would recommend you to return to the inverted por- 
tion immediately after it appears, and apply our smooth 
healing ointment, with fresh lard mixed in, and insert a 
little with the end of the finger into the rectum, smear- 
ing it around the inside of the anal opening. Apply 
the ointment morning and evening. Feed the colt 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. I3I 

principally grass, and give a bran mash once daily, hav- 
ing two good handfuls of linseed meal mixed with it. 
I would recommend two drams of opium as a prevent- 
ive against straining. Keep the colt raised a little 
behind, and disturbed as little as possible till the pro- 
trusion ceases. 

CAKKER OR rOUL-i:N^-rEET. 

In winter and early spring, when cattle are con- 
fined in stables, or run in muddy yards, filled with de- 
composing manure and slush, canker or foul-in-foot is 
often troublesome. In many cases cattle have to stand 
in the stable with their hind feet in their own dung, 
which is very injurious, resulting fi-equently in this dis- 
order, and reducing the condition of the cows or check- 
ing the growth of young cattle. The feet between the 
hoofs become macerated, soft and tender, and absorb 
the ammonia and deleterious matter of the dung, which 
produces ulceration between the hoofs. Prompt treat- 
ment and a removal of the cause will prevent serious 
loss to the dairyman. 




Fig. 25. 

This illustration shows the proper method of tak- 
ing up the cow's foot, in order to pare, dress, or apply 



132 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

ointment. A cow will not hold her foot steady, like a 
horse, when taken up. One man can not do it. If you 
use a block and tackle you run the risk of breaking the 
cow's leg. Take a pole the thickness of a man's wrist, 
and wrap it with a horse blanket or any soft substance. 
Place the pole between the legs, inside and forward of 
the hock of the leg on which you wish to operate, and 
above the hock of the other leg. Let a person take 
hold of each end of the pole and lift to the level of the 
hock. The cow will struggle a short time, but ineffect- 
ually, and will soon be quiet. Then the operator can go 
to work with comfort and ease to the cow and himself. 

BLACK LEG IX CALVES. 

This disease is known under various names, "quar- 
ter evil," "black evil," "joint murrain," "anthrax," and 
" charbon." Young cattlvj are, in every case, the sub- 
jects, and the first in the herd to be attacked are those 
in most plethoric condition. The attack is so sudden, 
generally, that the animal is often dead, or nearly so, 
before the owner knows that anything is wrong. The 
joints of the hind legs become swollen, and the animal 
is lame. So severe is it, that it is often pronounced 
acute paralysis, upon first seeing the case. Severe and 
general fever prevails, every part of the system be- 
comes affected, the blood becomes clotted, and circula- 
tion is impeded. The pulse, from 60 to 80, falls sud- 
denly to 40, with a flickermg, bounding feeling, and 
death soon ends the scene, often without a struggle. 

Formerly, this disease was regarded as a pure in- 
flammatory fever, but modern investigation proves it to 
be of an epizootic and enzootic character, and thus sub- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 1 33 

ject to the same law which governs other diseases of 
this type. The symptoms are fever, denoted by quick, 
full pulse, hurried breathing, outstretched head, blood- 
shot eyes, hot mouth, loss of appetite, moaning, etc. 
The animal becomes lame in a fore or hind leg, swell- 
ings appear on some part of the body, on the quarters 
or a 30ut the joints ; the back and loins are tender to 
the touch, the skin becomes hard and dry in patches, 
and afterwards sloughs off, leaving sores that discharge 
offensive matter. Swellings appear about the back, 
which, when pressed, gives forth a crackling sound, 
called emphysema. Gangrene rapidly ensues, involv- 
ing the whole muscular tissue, and death ensues in 24 
to 48 hours. Bleeding was generally practiced in for- 
mer times, but investigation has shown that no animal 
ever has any more blood than is needed to sustain the 
functions of life. Depletion and purging have had 
their day. They can have no good effect in any in- 
flammatory disease like this, where prostration is so 
great and dissolution so rapid. Calves are subject to 
this disease, whether sucking the dams or artificially 
fed. The disease prevails one season more than an- 
other. The present season is more productive of this 
malady than any we have had for some time past. As 
precautionary measures, keep the bowels open, give ex- 
ercise, do not feed boiled milk, guard against a plethoric 
condition. If the calf runs with the cow, and she gives 
more milk than it should have, milk a portion. When 
any swelling or stiffness of joints appears, apply hot 
water and a little soda or borax ; foment with a sponge. 
Keep this up till you can obtain from the druggist the 
compound embrocation of ammonia, camphorettcd 



134 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



spirits, and laudanum. This is the best application in 
use. Apply with friction, actively. It will relieve the 
cellular tissue from becoming charged with serum or 
clotted blood. Do not skin the animal that dies of this 
disease, but burn or bury it deep. Burning is to be 
preferred, for then there is no possibility of infection 
afterwards. 

THE AGE or A COW AS INDICATED BY HOKK MAEKS. 

The horn of a steer or heifer does not at any time 
of life give a true tabular scale or gauge whereby we 
have a correct standard as to age. The bull at five 
years has certain rings or waves whereby the age at 
and after that time can be told with accuracy. The 
horn or prolongation of the frontal bone of the cow 
begins to indicate age after she has been served by the 
male, and is developed after she has produced her first 
calf. Our simple illustration clearly defines the vari- 
ous points, which will explain the different stages of 
bovine life. 




Fig. 26. 



At two years the first mark is shown, after the 
birth of the first offspring. The rude mark at 3 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 135 

shows the broad ring which every horn has when a 
cow has run farrow for one year, showing that the cow 
is three years old, and only at that age had one calf, 
which is ordinarily the case, but m some breeds, when 
a cow has had a calf at three years, she then goes far- 
row in her fourth year, when her mark at A would 
then be the same as at 2. The marks at 4, 5, 6 are what 
we would call calf marks, showing that up to six years 
of age she has had four calves. Ordinarily, at seven 
years of age, she again goes farrow, which is seen at B, 
and produces the same kind of a ring that we represent 
in the cut, growing with a regular wave from the lower 
side of the horn over the cutis and frontis of the occipi- 
tal bone. At the base of the horn is the gelatinous or 
soft cuticle wave, up under the hair, and as it grows, it 
becomes hard, tough, and elastic, as seen at C. The 
cow is now rising eight years, and has had five calves. 
Each year that she has a calf the same wave or ring is 
left on the horn, and up to ten years she has been far- 
row two years, and was two years old when she had 
her first calf. Between ten and fifteen years a cow is 
more apt to go farrow every third season. But there 
are exceptions in the reproductive life of the bovine, 
as well as in an}? other species of our domestic animals ; 
some cows will have twins several times in their lives, 
but the standard of horn mark is not altered. One ring 
or mark only indicates one year, whether it is to be 
one or two calves at a birth. The teeth of cattle are 
no criterion of age, as the soil on which they feed and 
the kind of food will wear or preserve the teeth, ac- 
cording as the case may be. 



136 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



YETERIXAKY APPLIANCES. 

The farmer often finds it necessary to apply a poul- 
tices or blister, etc., to various parts of the horse or 
cow. We propose to illustrate and plainly describe 
simple methods we employ, several of which we have 
illustrated. 




Fig. 27. 

JcFig. 27 shows the method of applying a bandage 
to the eye, to secure a poultice or lotion, in cases of 
injury or inflammation. During a practice of over 
forty years, we have found that the great difficulty 
with horse owners in treating the most simple injuries 
is to keep a proper covering on the part. The illustra- 
tion of the eye bandage will enable any farmer to apply 
it with no trouble or failure. It is used to secure an 
eye lotion, a blister, or even a cold water poultice. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



137 




FiG,|28. 

Fig. 28 shows the proper method of applying a 
poultice to a tumor located on the throat, after a blis- 
ter has been applied. The strings, as seen in the cut, 
do not interfere with the eye or movement of the head. 
After the poultice has been applied the five-ring halter 
is then put on, and the under strap keeps the covering 
firm on the tumor. In all veterinary works we have 
illustrations or explanations of the disease, but the 
treatment and mode of application thereof are never 




Pig. 29. 



138 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



shown. Fig. 29 shows the best method of applying the 
bandage to the throat, when properly adjusted. If a 
poultice is used, as in a case of strangles, swelled glands, 
etc., the bandage is first adjusted firmly, then the con- 
tents of the poultice are put in the cloth and drawn 
between the bandage and the throat or parotid gland. 
After it is put on in this way the halter is put in place. 
The poultice, being kept close to the part requiring it, 
does not need to be taken off", as an application of warm 
water three times a day keeps the poultice in an active 
state. A liniment can be applied in the same way. 

Fig. 30 shows the proper way to adjust a bandage 
on the chest when liniment is used in a case of pleuro- 
dynia, founder, lung fever, hernia, or a poultice on col- 
lar boils, etc. Catarrh, or ''cold in the head," is an affec- 
tion of the lining membrane of the nasal chamber and 
cavities of the head. It consists in a congested or 




Fig. 30. 

inflamed state of those membranes, giving rise to a 
glaring discharge from one or both nostrils, and when 
the upper end of the windpipe (larynx) is implicated, 
it is accompanied by a cough. This is the congestive 
stage. The fever is then at its height, and in every 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 39 

case is accompanied with a cough. Sometimes a very 
simple remedy will check the disease, ^t other times 
this matter becomes pent up in the sinuses of the head, 
which will show itself by being discharged in clots. 
At this stage the nose-bag, illustrated in Fig. 31, aids in 




Fig. 31. 

Steaming the nose with hot bran and water, with two 
teaspoonfuls of aqua ammonia mixed in it. This will 
cure every case, but every case must be cared for. Do 
not expose the horse the day after, as he is apt to take 
a relapse. This nose-bag can be easily and properly 
adjusted. This treatment is mild, and suited to the 
following cases as a preventive against matters being 
thrown on the lungs : Bronchitis, Tonsilitis, Catarrh, 
Laryngitis, sore throat, and strangles or distemper. 

Figure 32 shows the proper method of applying a 
poultice, absorbent, or blister to the withers. The poul- 
tice is first put on over the swelling ; then the appli- 



140 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

ance is put over it, so as to keep it in place. A 
horse can shake anything off the withers, unless such 



Fig. 32. 

an appliance is used. It is an easy and simple method 
to keep cotton batting when an ointment has to be kept 
on, and likewise blisters or fomentations. Simple as it 
looks, it is difhcult to keep medicaments in place in any 
other way. In consequence of chafing by an ill-fitting 
collar, inflammations, indurated cysts, or tumors are 
often caused, and matter is formed beneath the large 
flat muscles which cover the fore part of the shoulders. 
The tissue around the part becomes thickened, so that 
it is difficult to detect any fluctuation of matter, yet it 
may be assumed when there is considerable swelling, 
that has continued for some time, that there is pus. 
There will be no recovery till the matter has been re- 
moved. In slight cases only a nut-like indurated tumor 
appears on the skin (see Fig. 33), on the top of the 
shoulder, and another behind. Fig. 33 is caused 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. I4I 

by the collar, the other by the saddle. The one so well 




Fig. 33. 



shown on the point of the shoulder is the worst kind of 
a hard calloused tumor we have to deal with. Any 




Fig. 34. 



142 THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 

appliance, even when carefully adjusted, cannot be 
kept in place, unless the proper apparatus is first put 
on, so as to keep the remedy used properly in place. 
Such an apparatus is illustrated in Fig. 34. The elbow 
tumor represented in Fig. 33 is another of the same 
sort, caused by pressure, when lying down, upon the 
heel of the shoe of the fore foot. The appliance is 
adjusted for all these much in the same way. In Fig. 
34 the outside covering or bandage proper is put on, 
then the remedy, either as a poultice or blister of any 
kind, is pushed under. If any part of the shoulder is 
cut, snagged, or bruised, this appliance is the most suit- 
able, and will keep the remedy in place. We next take 
up the treatment of stifle lameness, or laxation of petel- 
la. I have delineated with care the various modes of 
treatment. Fig. 35 is the ordinary way, well known to 




Fig. 35. 

the veterinary profession, when used with what is called 
the side shoe. We have in our practicea better and 
easier plan in treatment of laxation. There is an objec- 
tion to the use of the side line. When the colt finds 
that he is cramped up and has no use of his foot to rest 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



143 



himself, he will frequently struggle and fall down in the 
stall. We here illustrate two different modes of treat- 
ment which are preferable to the side line shown in 
Fig. 35, and always safe. Fig. 36 shows a great im- 
provement over the old injurious stifle shoe that had to 




Fig. 36. 

be nailed on the foot, and, in a great measure, was the 
means of doing serious injury. This shoe requires no 
nails, and is simple and easy of construction. Still, it 
is expensive and does not meet our views, so we use a 
better and safe mode, shown in Fig. 37. The shoe in 
Fig. 36 is six inches from D to sole. The shoe proper 
is wide web bed, and the rest or bow at C is welded on 
at D, and the iron heel strap is also welded at D,and 
buckled to a girth strap B, that comes over the fetlock 
a little above the heel, so as not to chafe. The belt at 
A is strapped firmly, so as to hold the thm band of iron 
that is firmly connected with the bars at D, and fits well 



144 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



Up the fore part of the hoof and pastern joint. This 
shoe has the advantage' over the old shoe, as it can be 
moved at pleasure, which the nails in the old shoe pre- 
vented. Fig. 37 shows the most preferable of any method 
we have ever tried. The horse or colt is put into a 




Fig. 37. 

narrow stall, two feet six inches wide, with no more 
space than is needed to let the horse stand easily. It 
makes no difference whether he is haltered or not, as he 
cannot turn round. A scantling is kept close up on the 
back part of the stall, so as to keep the horse up. A 
box four feet long, fifteen inches wide, and six inches 
deep, is placed in the stall, so as to have the stifled foot 
rest on it while the foot on the sound side rests on the 
floor. The fore feet are at a level with the sound hind 
foot. I treated a young mare for laxation of petella 
six weeks ago. She had slipped and fallen while turn- 
ing a corner of the street. The off shoulder and near 
hind leg were seriously injured. The illustration shows 
how she stood for three days in her stall. She is now 
perfectly sound. This simple appliance will cost a 
reader of this work scarcely anything compared to the 
price of the shoe, or the risk of injury with the side 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. I45 

line. In every case a slight blister is applied to the 
stifle. Easy, soothing remedies are preferable to an 
active blister of any kind. Mercurial blisters are very 
bad, as they either ruin the ligaments or tendons, or 
cause necrosis of the bone. 

TEXA^ CATTLE FEVER. 

The appearance of this disease at various points of 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio has excited much 
apprehension, particularly Avhere the exact cause of the 
fatality among cattle was not known. In most of the 
localities affected there had been no previous acquaint- 
ance with splenic fever, and many supposed that a new 
pestilence had broken out. Investigation, however, soon 
decided that it was Texas fever, communicated by 
cattle from the Southwest being brought into the 
neighborhood. This dangerous malady has some pecu- 
liarities that all should understand in order to prevent 
its introduction. It does not apparently affect Texas, 
Cherokee, or Indian Territory cattle that are 
brought to the North. To all appearances they 
are perfectly healthy, but if they come in contact 
with our native cattle, should the latter pass over 
the same road, graze on the same field, or be 
shipped in the same car, shortly after the disease is 
communicated it is alarmingly fatal. If these South- 
western cattle pass one winter in the North there is no 
danger of infection from them, as freezing weather 
soon stamps out the disease, as it does yellow fever. 
The cattle of all the Gulf States are subject to this dis- 
ease, and it is thought that the present outbreak in 
Virginia was caused by cattle brought from South 



146 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

Carolina. In the Western States the nature of the 
malady is well understood, and these Southern cattle 
are kept from coming- in contact in any way with 
Northern cattle, and thus its fatal effects are prevented. 
Splenic fever was introduced into the vicinty of Cleve- 
land in the fall of 1877 during the great railroad strike, 
by Texas cattle that were stopped here en route for the 
East. They were driven along our roads to different 
pastures, and ere long the fatal fever made its appear- 
ance and carried off over 400 head of native stock in 
Cleveland and suburbs. Our experience during those 
two months enables us to write understandingly in re- 
gard to this fever. In every case where our native 
cattle came in contact with the Texas cattle, or fol- 
lowed along the road the}^ had traveled or on the same 
pasture, they contracted the disease, and where no 
veterinary surgeon was in attendance death invariably 
resulted. We know of a case where a butcher put a 
number of Southern cattle in the same pasture Avith 
twelve milch cows. The Southern cattle were all 
slaughtered in a few days, but the cows contracted the 
disease and in three weeks all were dead. These cows 
were literally covered with Texas ticks. Another cow 
that traveled over the road a distance of 60 yards from 
the barnyard to pasture, where a drove of Texas cattle 
had passed the night before, picked up some of the 
Texas ticks — exoides — and in less than a week every 
cow on the place became affected. They began to fall 
off in milk, then to sicken, then to die. Post-mortem 
proved it to be true splenic fever. 

The first sign of anything wrong in a cow is the 
failing in milk, a refusal to feed, standing apart from 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 147 

Other cattle in the field ; the faeces become hard and 
dry, emaciation follows, the animal passes bloody 
urine, and in a few days death ensues. By post-mortem 
we find enlarged spleen and liver, with cysts and ab- 
scesses frequently, and the liver having- a peculiar 
yellow or brownish appearance. In a number of cattle 
that we examined we found the same appearance gen- 
erally. The flesh takes a black yellowish appearance, 
caused by an excess of the coloring matter of the gall, 
and in every case becoming putrid in a short time, as 
the result of congestion. By the inexperienced, Texas 
fever is pronounced to be typhoid from the black, tur- 
bid state of the blood. The ticks that are gorged with 
the poisoned blood of the Southern cattle, getting upon 
our natives and inserting their proboscides, bring about 
a true vaccine poison. Our own cattle were several 
times exposed to the influence of Texas cattle, with only 
a rail fence between the cattle on either side, smelling 
each other and touching noses, but no ill effect followed 
till they became infested with the ticks ; then splenic 
fever was the result forthwith. It would not be our 
choice, had we the power, to stop traffic in Southern 
cattle, but as a protection to our farmers and stock 
owners, we would repress traffic at place of debarka- 
tion, and slaughter every animal where it lands from 
the cars. In no case should they be permitted to travel 
over our roads or feed upon our lands. 

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE; OR, MURRAIN IN CATTLE. 

The name seems to indicate the external parts af- 
fected. Its origin has never been traced to any other 
cause than contact with the virus. Parties who have 



148 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

been near diseased animals, such as cattle, calves, sheep, 
dogs, and the virus from the mouths of any or all of 
the above, know that the disease is only communicable 
by contact. Its origin, like that of contagious diseases 
generally, is wrapped in mystery. It is highly conta- 
gious. Every case has been communicated by associ- 
ation with diseased animals, directly or indirectly. 
Vesicular diseases among cattle Avere well known to 
early writers on epizootics. We find this malady re- 
ferred to as earl}^ as 171 1 in German}^ and Italy. It 
was introduced into Hungary and described as inflamed 
tongue, covered with blisters, with a constant discharge 
of saliva, which, being dropped on grass, communi- 
cated the disease to other animals. 

Finley Dunn speaks of a similar disease breaking 
out among the cattle of Great Britain in 18 10, and in 
1834 it was again prevalent all over Europe. The names 
given to it then were Blain, Murrain, or Distemper. 
Prof. Simmons first saw the foot and mouth disease at 
Twickenham, in September, 1839, ^^^ he proved that 
it was introduced on the farm b}^ some sucking calves 
bought at Smithfield market. 

Having briefly introduced the subject and referred 
to its early history, I now wish to explain its effects and 
show Its ruinous results to domestic animals, cattle, 
sheep, hogs, and poultry, and present the urgent neces- 
sity of protection against its inroads among us. 

When a cow first shows signs of this disease, she 
becomes languid, staggers, great heat is manifested in 
the mouth if the hand is introduced, the tongue looks 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. I49 

as though the skin had been dipped off in patches, gums 
are ulcerated, are of a red and bluish color; the hoofs 
become ulcerated around the top or coronary band, and 
in acute cases slough off. Rigidity of muscles and stiff- 
ness of limbs are often among first symptoms. When 
once seen the trouble is easily recognized. The animal 
walks as though treading on thorns. If a cow, ewe, 
goat, or sow is with young, they are sure to abort ; if 
nursing, the young soon die, the milk becomes quite 
poisonous. Children fed on the milk have died, show- 
ing the ulcerous and other effects of the disease. 

The outbreak of 1839-40 was the most serious of 
any that ever occurred in Great Britain. Cattle were 
the only victims. Sheep, pigs, and poultry suffered to 
such a fearful extent that it was not uncommon for per- 
sons employed in cleaning out Smithfield market to 
pick up basketfuls of sheep's and pigs' hoofs which had 
been lost during the day, and in every case animals 
had to be carted from the market, as they could not 
even stand, much less walk. After this outbreak steps 
were taken to extirpate the disease. Rigid restrictions 
were imposed, and with success. The disease has never 
been so prevalent since, though it is spreading in Great 
Britain at this time, and as we are importing cattle and 
other farm stock in large numbers, great care will be 
necessary to prevent its introduction. Should it gain 
a foothold among our Western herds or flocks, the 
result would be disastrous to what should always con- 
tinue to be the leading industry of that region. Imme- 
diate slaughter, paying a fair value for the animals, is 
the only method to stop the progress of the disease. 



150 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

WHAT'S THE MATTEE WITH THE EWE? 

I have lost a fine two-year-old ewe, with a caked 
bag. She had twin lambs, three weeks old, doing well. 
She was sheared on Friday, appeared well then. Sun- 
day a. m. I noticed the lambs trying to suck, but she 
kept walking away from them. I followed to see the 
cause, and found her bag very much swollen and fever- 
ish. I tried at once to milk her, but no milk would 
come. I then rubbed her bag well with camphorated 
lard, but by middle of afternoon she lay down, and was 
dead by noon the next day. Will some one tell me what 
caused the bag to cake at that stage of the lamb's 
growth ? The sheep have access to a blue grass pas- 
ture, and are fed bran in the evening enough to increase 
milk and bring them up to the fold. The ewe suffered 
from exposure, caused by becoming chilled after shear- 
ing. It would have been better to have left the wool 
on for another week, till the weather got warm, but 
shelter, and a good, warm, dry bed would have been 
judicious treatment with any animal that was weakened 
down by having twins. The cold acting on. her most 
delicate parts, or lactiferous ducts, stopped the secre- 
tion of milk from the mammillary glands, caused garget, 
which caused inflammation and general fever, forcing 
the blood back to the heart, producing puerperal fever 
and death ; starving the lambs for the want of nutrition 
from the time the ewe sickened. The proper treat- 
ment in the early stage of such a case would be to 
wrap a blanket around the ewe; keep in a 
warm place, and give aqua mentha pip, one 
ounce ; sherry wine, one ounce : mixed in half a 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 1 5 I 

pint of oat meal gruel, given as warm as is prudent ; 
fomenting the bag with warm water and a little mus- 
tard, so as to accelerate the secretion, the internal rem- 
edy getting up a rapid circulation and breaking down 
the curded state of the milk by driving the lactic acid 
through the kidneys instead of through the milk- 
secreting ducts. After you have fomented the udder 
till you have drawn all the milk from the bag, and soft- 
ened it, rub on gargoline so as to remove the pain and 
keep the bag soft. Five drops of tincture aconite and 
tincture colicynth, in alternation, would then have car- 
ried your patient through, to gain strength and be fully 
able to nurse her lambs. Flock owners ought to be 
careful in attending to breeding stock during this cold, 
showery weather. 

SECUKI]S^G A HOKSE. 

The following is my method of securing a horse 
for castration, the excision of a tumor, or any other 
operation of similar nature. It is humane, preventing 
injury to the animal or operator. The usual method 
of throwing a horse is cruel, injuring and killing many 
noble animals, and is the same as practiced in the days 
of Youatt, Percival, and Mayhew. In the cut i is the 
halter strap, tied firmly to a beam, keeping the horse's 
head well up, so as to prevent struggling or any attempt 
to lie down ; 2 is a rope fastened firmly to the partition 
of stall, keeping the horse firmly secured so that he 
cannot move from side to side ; 3 is a strap buckled to 
the scantling, going over the shoulder, and through the 
partition, so as to prevent rearing up; 4 is the girth to 
which the strap from the fetlock joint (8) is secured, 



152 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



drawn up .as tight as the case may require; 6 is a 
strap passing- around the body, to be used when neces- 
sary to keep the foot firm and close to the abdomen; 




Fig. 38. 

7, a strap fastened to a scantling, goes around 
and is fastened to the side of partition, so as to 
prevent crouching, which will occur every time 
without prevention ; 9, scantling ; 10, end of scantling 
to which the rope is fastened and then lashed 
firmly to the partition; 11, tail tied up out of the 
way of the castrator, and helping to keep the horse 
firm. Aged bulls, as well as aged stallions, should be 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



153 



castrated in this way, which I have practiced for years. 
It will be new to thousands of professional castrators 
and veterinarians. The cut and this description have 
been copyrighted, and hence cannot be used by others 
without permission. 




Fig. 39. 



We use this ecraseure in preference to the chani 



154 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

ecraseure. It is safer, makes a clean cut, causes no hem- 
orrhage, never was known to cause a schirrus tumor, 
and is so handy to use with our principle of castrating 
all animals standing, and it has a preference over any 
other kind. It is easily cleaned. There is no blood- 
poisoning following the operation, is nickel-plated, and 
can be carried in the vest pocket. 

MALFOEMATIOX. 
Internal Defects of the Horse ^^th Illustrations. 

Parrot-mouth, or malformation of the mouth of 
the horse, is seldom met with, but is occasionally found 
among all breeds in every country. No animal life is 
exempt from abnormality ; all are affected more or less. 
Parrot-mouth, or a projection of the upper incisors over 
the under incisor teeth, is an impediment which, in 
every case, prevents a horse so affected from feeding in 
pasture. However anxious to eat, he would die of hun- 
ger on ordinary good pasture, not being able, from the 
shortness of the lower jaw, to graze. The annexed cut 
will sufficiently explain the peculiar deformity. Such 
a horse must be fed from rack and manger. The upper 
incisors having no triturating action on the lower, be- 
come unnaturally long, and require the use of the half- 
circle tooth rasp to keep the upper lip from projecting 
unnaturally over the under lip, and preventing the 
gathering process of food to the incisors and molars 
for mastication. The longer the teeth the worse the 
horse can feed. That class of horses are always thin 
and poor in flesh, besides requiring the strictest atten- 
tion of the groom to see that they are feeding easily and 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



155 



free, in order to keep them in working- condition. Thsee 
teeth are apt to get very sharp at the upper edge, and 
hence cut and lacerate ^the upper lip, thus placing an- 
other impediment in the way of gathering food. The 




Fig. 40. 



illustration, Fig. 41, represents a projecting molar (a), 
which causes a defect in mastication, resulting in loss 
of condition. Such a tooth ought to be rasped level 




Fia. 41. 



156 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

with the other molars. The second tooth from the 
front of the under jaw, having worn the second tooth 
of the upper jaw below the level of the other molars, 
has left a sharp edge on the outside of the other tooth 
of the upper jaw, whereby a raw sore is cut. on the in- 
side of the cheek, and the animal is suffering acute pain 
without the least knowledge of the owner. The symp- 
toms are quidding, or partially chewing the food, espe- 
cially hay or grass, and soft food or oats are swallowed 
whole. Fermentation and consequent colic is one of the 
evils attendant upon partially masticated food. When- 
ever the hay or bulky food is dropped from the mouth 
the teeth ought to be examined at once, and no examina- 
tion previous to purchase is complete without looking 
in the mouth to see if incisors and molars are in a regu- 
lar and healthy condition. If a horse has an offensive 
smelling breath, see the molars. If he holds his head 
to one side when the bit is put in his mouth, and when 
driving, see the molars. If at any time blood is seen 
on the manger or the tongue, look at the molars, and 
if an examination reveals sharp enamel edges, get the 
tooth rasp and dress the teeth immediately. Rotten 
teeth, may produce some of the S3'mptoms I have de- 
scribed. The gums are red and inflamed, abscess may 
have formed, and unless the teeth are immediately 
extracted, the diseased fangs will ultimately bring in 
disease of the jaw, such as caries, and keep the horse 
slobering large quantities of frothy, stringy mucus, 
every time he feeds ; there will be a continual slopping 
of the food into the mouth, and all over the feed box 
or manger. A case of diseased teeth once came under 
our observation, where the horse was considered to be 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. I 57 

suffering from nasal gleet, and even pronounced gland- 
ers. We have used our forceps in several cases where 
a rotten tooth, when removed, gave the horse imme- 
diate relief, and he went to eating with great freedom. 
The treatment, therefore, is to draw out all diseased 
teeth, but prominent or sharp edges ought to be re- 
duced level and smooth by the rasp. There are occa- 
sionally ver}^ singular conditions of the teeth of horses, 
and one of the most common is the persistence of the 
jaw of some of the temporary incisors. This arises 
from the latter having been pressed upon by the ad- 
vancing colt teeth. We have known a horse with 
twelve incisors in the lower jaw, though most frequent- 
ly the peculiarity only amounts to the presence of one 
or two extra teeth. In herbivora, the incisor teeth vary 
in importance and are absent in the upper jaw of the 
ruminant, their place being occupied by the fibro-elas- 
tic pad. In the horse there are two pairs of tushes, and 
we observe twelve large, broad, pillar-shaped molars, 
in the upper and lower jaw. In the front of the molars 
there are occasionally small rudimentary teeth called 
wolf teeth, because they represent in appearance tushes 
like the carnivora. Various superstitions are connected 
with these accidental and harmless teeth. It is believed 
that they cause blindness and require removal. When 
in front of the first molar at B B, no injury occurs from 
their presence, but between the first and second molar 
their presence is injurious and painful to the horse, as 
seen by the redness of the gum at C, but properly speak- 
ing are not wolf teeth, and ought to be extracted as 
abnormal dentition. Those in front will lose their 
hold and drop out. But besides the teeth between the 



158 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

molars (which is a rare case), not one in a thousand re- 
quire extraction for the purpose of saving- the eyes, a 
is believed by many. Let the reader forever discard 
the idea that wolf teeth are injurious to health, and will 
causes total blindness. 

THE EFFECT OF TIGHT KEIXIXG UPOX THE TRACHEA 

OE AVIXDPIPE. 

The many beautiful points of the horse, and his 
physiology deserve much greater attention than has 
been hitherto paid to them. We have always been an 
enemy to the abuse of the horse, either through fashion 
or custom, and have frequently demonstrated many of 
the evils connected with reining, to which we mean to 
refer in the following : Fig. 42 represents the cruel 
and wicked practice of reining the head up so tight 
as not only to interfere with the breathing, but to cause 
suffering and distress by bringing on contraction and 
disease of the rings of the trachea, for no other reason 
than to make the horse look stylish and carry a good 
head, which in our opinion only disfigures and worries 
the animal. The drawing of the head so close into 




Fig. 42. 

the breast extends the muscles of the neck and con- 
tracts the muscles of the throat, 30 that breathing and 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



159 



deg'lutition are seriously interfered with. The thyroid 
cartilage is crushed into the posticus muscle, infusion, 
or a thickening of the windpipe, takes place, besides 
a contraction of the rings, as represented in figure 43. 




Fig. 43. . 

The treachea consists of from fifty to fifty-two carti- 
lagenous rings, the structure of which is admirably 
adapted to effect every purpose for which it is intended, 
each ring possessing sufficient thickness and strength 
to resist ordinary pressure, and each constituting a joint 
with the one above and below, and, therefore, admit- 
ting of all the flexibilitv that is required. These rings 
are connected by an interposed fibro-ligamentous sub- 
stance, extensible, elastic, and yet so strong that it is 



l6o THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

scarcely possible to rupture it ; and the fibers of that 
ligament not running vertically from one to another, 
and, therefore, admitting of little more than the rota- 
tion of the head, composed of layers adapted in them- 
selves to every variety of motion. These rings are 
represented in Fig. 43, are thickest in front, and project 
circularly, composing an arch-like form. There, too, the 
ligament is widest, in order to admit of the greatest 
motion in which it is most needed when the head is ele- 
vated or depressed. Laterally these rings are thinner, 
because the}' are to a greater degree protected by 
stronger muscles, and do not interfere with the motion 
of the tube but give firmness to it. The cut of the tra- 
chea represents the contraction of several rings, causing 
a defect in inspiration and respiration. A, thyroid ; B, 
arytenoideus muscle, paralyzed and partially absorbed 
by the constant use of the bearing-rein; C, the crico- 
arytenoidens posticusm uscle, rendered pallid and de- 
prived of the power b}^ the use of the bearing-rein. If 
we were to draw a straight line from B to the right side 
of the under ring, represented, and tighten this line so 
as to press the rings D D together, we have the same 
contraction and deformity brought on by the cruelty of 
tight reining, especially the bearing-rein. When the 
animal is in active exertion, running, trotting, or draw- 
ing a load, any interference with the windpipe or bron- 
chial tubes is certainly against his comfort in perform- 
ing the duty imposed upon him. In the natural state of 
the wind-pipe, this pressure, either by the drawing of 
the bearing-rein into the neck and throat, or a tight, 
ill-fitting collar, or any other brutal contrivance, is 
dangerous and deleterious to the action, ease, and com^ 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. l6l 

fort of the horse, and we expect ere long to sec neither 
bearing rein nor overcheck used in driving a work 
horse. At D, in the cut, the difficulty is seen by the 
pressure of the muscles, and the distress is shown by the 
expansion of the nasal organs. We see it in the high step- 
per, and the fancy high-headed carriage-horse, and many 
of the diseases so common to that class are wholly to be 
attributed to the inhuman treatment of high-checking. 
We favor the fashion when it accords with humanity 
and good sense, but firmly oppose it when it results in 
pain, distress, discomfort, and debility, especially to the 
lower animals. 

The first figure illustrates a fashion creeping in 
upon our horse owners that brings with it only evil. 
It is the latest mode of torture for that useful but mis- 
used animal, the horse. They say it looks stylish, 
makes the horse carry a good head, etc., but they give 
no thought to the pain and discomfort it causes. Any 
horse harnessed in this style will in a short time be- 




FiG. 44. 

come a confirmed roarer. He will show a difficulty 
in breathing from the moment the straps tighten. 
The horse dudes look at his appearance only, and say 



l62 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

he is a stylish high stepper, but we say that a horse 
traveling half the time on his hind feet for the sole 
purpose of seeking relief from oppression, is no picture 
of pleasure to a humanitarian. Every veterinarian 
should set his face firmly against such practices. 

The figure represents the strapping for preventing 
a vicious horse kicking; but if a horse can not be driven 
with safety without such torture, he should be used for 
some other purpose. 

The various diseases that result from such treat- 
ment are manifested from middle life to old age; such 
as roaring, whistling, sneezing, broken wind and heavy 
horse, etc. Spasm of the larynx, often taken for 
megrims, staggers, and phrenitis, when the animal stag- 
gers, chokes, and falls, is never imputed to tight reining. 

At Fig. 43 we illustrate the deformities of the wind- 
pipe. The treachea may be distorted in horses that 
have been used Avith a bearing-rein, and an instance of 
this is here figured. 




Fig, 45. 

Constriction of the windpipe has frequently been 
witnessed, and among the most curious forms of this 
disease we have cases in 'which the ends of the carti- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



163 



lages curl in and divide the passage into two narrow 
tubes, through which an insufficient amount of air 
passes and the animal dies of suffocation. 

At A is shown the contraction of the thyroid car- 
tilages : at B the arytenoideus muscles, cilated in conse- 
quence of pressure against the thyroid cartilage A ; at 
C the posticus muscle is thickened, caused by pressure 
of the muscles of the neck ; at No. i the second ring 
of the trachea is pressed within the first ring on the 
upper side, with an indurate growth adhering to the 
cervical muscles of the neck, which interferes greatly 




Fig. 4G. 



with inspiration and expiration ; at 2, 3, 4 separation by 
the scalpel showed the tumors adhering to the verte- 



164 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

brge the contraction of the sixth ring, and morbid 
choking from the tumors caused this animal to be a 
confirmed roarer. 

Knowing the horse in life, we had the pleasure of 
examining the case, after he was made a present to us, 
for the purpose of giving a correct report to the rich 
owner. We found the trachae in the same state when 
dissected as represented in the cut. We kept it dried 
and varnished for manv vears. 

The treatment for roaring is of a most palliative 
description : a pad carefully adapted over the false nos- 
trils, or by having a tube inserted in the trachae. But 
why all this when it can be avoided by proper treat- 
ment? The reason the pad is used is to dilate the 
nares, so that no more air can be forced upon the con- 
tracted rings of the trachae, and the trumpet action is 
prevented, of a wide mouth and a narrow passage, 
which gives off the sound of wheezing. 

We hope we have created an inquiry into the evils 
we have tried to describe plainh', and that we may be 
the means of preventing to some extent this, as well as 
the many other abuses the horse is subject to more than 
anv other animal under control of man. We have so 
far illustrated and exposed the result of tight reining 
and injurv to the windpipe. 

We now show the result from another cause. It is 
understood that these defects are not hereditary natur- 
ally but the voung animal being perfect in every re- 
spect, men to gam a particular point in the breaking or 
education of the colt, have tortured and employed by 
what they call good training. Fig. 45 shows another 
evil result of this kmd of usage. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 165 

The staring eyes and expanded nostrils indicate 
the suffering endured by the unnatural appliance. 
The injury is seen by the laceration of the tongue, 
whose sensitive organs of pretension are chiefly com- 
posed of muscular tissue, among which fat and glanu- 
lar structure are interspersed, and the whole covered 
by integument of the mucous membrane. The tongue, 
as represented, came under our notice in our practice. 
We found it lacerated, and nearly severed bytight rein- 
ing and sawing the bit in the mouth, on the plea that 
the horse had a hard mouth, or was a hard puller. It 
must be remembered that the tongue of the horse can- 
not sink so far below the jaw as to be free of the bit ; 
nor can it become so thin that the intermaxillary space 
between the under jaws will allow the bit to rest only 
on the jaws so as to protect the tongue from mjury. 
The tongue has intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The 
intrinsic are especially destined for the local move- 
ments of the organ, and in every particular favorable 
to the movements of the food within the mouth. The 
extrinsic are connected with the tongue bone or os hy- 
oides, and chin, and favor the protrusion and retraction 
of the tongue, in the prehension of liquids as well as 
solids. The membrane covering the tongue is pro- 
vided with eminences or papillae, destined to increase 
its surface for the production of the protecting scaly 
epithelium. It is well known that the tongue is one of 
the most sensitive organs of touch, from its delicate, 
sensitive nature ; therefore measures the most human 
are required in the bit within the mouth. We need not 
allude further to the cruel practice referred to. The 
illustration explains itself. 



l66 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

When any part of the animal so sensitive as the 
tongue is so treated, it should lead us to ask of any con- 
trivance to be used — is it human? The rule we should 
adopt is that if treated artificially, animals must be 
managed according to their habits of life, unless we 
wish to destroy them. 

Among the most unsuspected of all defects is worms 
in the eye of the horse. Many of the readers may have 
no knowledge or never heard of such a result. And 
we are sorry to say that few veterinarians have ever 
been called to treat a case. We never had the pleasure 
of seeing a worm free from cyst in the corner of the 
eye of the horse, when alive, but only when dissected, 
after death. The only known species found in the eye 
of the horse is the Filaria Papillosa, which resembles 
in appearance the Filaria Verminosa, found in the air 
passages of young animals. All the genus oi Filaria 
entozoa are to be found in the most obscure and most 
delicate structures, the most dangerous to be tampered 
with, and worst to reach with medicines for their de- 
struction without injury to animal life. Gamgee, the 
best living authority on entozoa, says that Filaria, or 
threadworm, is to be found in the lachrymal glands, 
which means the tear-secreting gland below the eye, 
and between eyelids and eyeballs. The Papillosa, or 
warty threadworm, is found beneath the pleura and 
peritonaeum, in the horse, ass, and mule, in the crystal- 
line lens and interior chamber of the eye, and is rarely 
suspected during life. It was known in the early his- 
tory of veterinary science. Blain, in his work, refers 
to it. Hertwig notices it. Spinola, Mayhew, Kohne, 
LuUin, Gerike, Newieres, Fromage, De Tengre, Kuch- 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 6/ 

enmeister, the greatest German investigators that ever 
lived, all affirm the finding of the Papillosa after death. 
No one, however experienced, can puncture the eye 
without injury. It has never been done, either in Eng- 
land, France, Germany, or Austria. No one has ever 
found it in a free state, but always encysted, when in 
possession of the cornea of the eye of the horse. It 
has always been understood as cataract, and will be 
seen in the eye of the horse as an opaque spot. The 
eye itself consists of three transparent humors — the 
aqueous in front, the crystalline lens in the center, and 
the vitreous humor behind. The first is a perfectly 
transparent and limpid fluid, secreted by the lining of 
the chamber in which it lies. The second has the con- 
sistency of hard jelly, and arranged in concentric lay- 
ers. The third is a vitreous limpid aqueous humor. 
Here is where the papillosa is fouad, and the oapacity 
that often pervades the eye is first seen by the owner. 
It often happens, while the horse is young, that this 
disturbance only causes a defect of sight upward, and 
the horse can see objects on the ground, while it is the 
cause of inveterate shying when the fore part of the eye 
is affected. It has been often taken for injury, ophthal- 
mia, and inflammation, treated as in the case we allude 
to, with lotions, consisting of sulphate of zinc, plumbi 
acid, belladonnia, and other eye washes, besides an ac- 
tive blister below and behind the eye. Zoological 
writers say that the papillosa finds its way into the eye 
by the lachrymal apparatus, situated beneath the outer 
wall of the orbit, and, as we have said, secretes the 
tears that wash the conjunction clear of any foreign 
substance. We have seen no reason to approve that 



l68 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

theory, but claim it an unsolved problem. Rather 
would we believe that the same species finds its way 
into the air-passages of the chicken, picked up when 
coughed from another, and instead of traveling to the 
crop, rests by the way, adhering to the tonsils, and then 
traveling direct to the windpipe. The same with sheep 
or lambs. Therefore, treatment in such a case is un- 
availing, so far as our experience goes ; that is where 
we are lost when we find the retina, or expansion of the 
optic nerve of the eye, disorganized by disease. This 
is the trouble in so many cases that leads to shying, and 
is perfectly incurable. The natural color of the horse's 
eye is generally brown, except in some cases of the pie- 
bald, where the mooneye is so often seen. 

RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM; OR, HERKIA OF THE 
TRAN'SYERSE MUSCULAR SEPTUM, WHICH SEPA- 
RATES THE THORAX FROM THE ABDOMEN. 

Were a horse like man, walking in an upright po- 
sition, such a defect would be of rare occurrence, but 
the trunk may be said to rest on four pillars, and in 
that space are contained all the vital functions of life. 
In the thorax are contained the most vital — the heart 
and lungs ; in the abdominal, the liver, stomach, and 
intestines ; between the two is the diaphragm through 
which the oesophagus, or musculo-menbranous canal, 
passes, extending from the lower part of the pharynx 
to the superior orifice of the stomach. At that part 
where the muscular septum is thinnest, and from ex- 
cessive exertion, such as hard pulling after the stomach 
has been distended with bulky food, pressure will tear 
the thin fibrous coat, causing the omentum to protrude 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 69 

into the space occupied by the heart and lungs, causing 
a difficult sensation and difficulty of breathing. If the 
horse is young, in a great many cases he gets over it, 
in a manner, and at the time it is considered an ordi- 
nary case of colic, showing all symptoms by its spas- 
modic effect. From that time onward, in the life of the 
horse, he is a confirmed subject of heaves, suffering 
after very full feed, especiall}/ at work, the greatest 
difficulty of inspiration ; the nares extended, the ex- 
pression of the eyes with every pang depicted, and 
laving flanks, all indicate it. We have often advised 
in practice, after a case of spasms, from whatever cause, 
to feed strained or cooked food, so as to remove any 
object in the way, such as dust balls, that are occasion- 
ally found in the stomach of the horse. These have 
their origin from a nucleus, such as a piece of nail or 
wire, that may have been swallowed in the oats. Mill- 
ers' and feed store horses are most subject to dust balls, 
caused by feeding sweepings of the floors. At no time 
ought a horse that is the least inclined to be short 
winded be overfed, or have a large quantity of water 
to drink. It is wisdom to feed such a horse four times 
a day, and give but little water at a time, as a horse 
once affected is subject to a return of flatulent colic, 
which will most assuredly end in enteritis. But the 
great risk is the infusion caused by hernia of the dia- 
phragm ; being adherent of the lungs, pleurisy is set in, 
and (as in all such cases), is never known until it is too 
late. Large feeds of wet grass, corn or corn meal, will 
cause the greatest distress, and ought, at all times, to 
be guarded against. The existence of such a trouble is 
to be found in many more horses than we are aware ot, 



I/O THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

and is commonly the cause of hngering and hidden 
disease, terminating in death, without our knowledge 
of its nature. The only way we have of ascertaining 
Ihat the diaphragm is involved, is by the husky cough 
peculiar to the irritation or pressure of the stomach on 
the lungs, with the defect in inspiration. 

ACARI AND E:N^T0Z0A OF OUE DO^MESTIC ANIIMALS. 

Acari, or the insects that infest the skin of our 
domestic animals, are ticks, or lice, generally the result 
of filth and bad treatment, and are generally believed 
to be the cause of disease in our domestic animals. It 
is true, however, that they are the true agents of de- 
bility and the propagation of disease, as we have seen. 
As an instance, an animal affected with mange or scab 
will give the disease to all animals that come in contact 
with it. 

The majority of skin diseases, particularly in the 
horse, are due to the expression of some form of eczema. 
Eczema as defined by early writers was believed to be 
a form of minute vesicles or eruptions, causing an ery- 
thematous state of the skin, with heat, tingling, and 
itching, soon followed by the formation of vesicles, or 
watery pustules. Modern science and investigation 
with the microscope and other appliances have fully 
attested the belief that acari were the cause of the most 
of the skin diseases of animal life. As an instance, 
grease heel, according to Professor Herring, is caused 
by the presence of sarcoptes hippopodus, as shown in 
the illustration. 

Herring says of it that its body is twice as long as 
broad, beset all over with hairs like satin, with eight 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. I/I 

feet, and each of them has a sucking disc at the end and 
two small hairs on each joint, etc. The presence of 
this parasite in chronic grease is accidental. And 
other diseases, such as canker, mallanders, and sallan- 
ders, are apt to be complicated with a mange caused 
by this parasite; but Gerlach, according to Prof. John 
Gamgee, designates this, epizoo symbiotes equi, and 
says that the disease induced by it may be called foot 
mange, scratches, or grapey greased heels, and in neg- 
lected cases becomes transformed into a low form of 
fibrous tissue and swelling of the legs, and in some 
cases the legs of the horse become enormously swollen 
from this cause. 

The causes of grease are both intrinsic and extrin- 
sic. Of the intrinsic and predisposing cause we men- 
tion breed. Grease is most common with hairy-legged 
cart horses, with big broad feet and light washy bodies. 
Some are of opinion that white legs are peculiarly 
liable to this disease; but a careful and impartial inves- 
tigation ot the matter has led me to conclude that this 
idea involves a popular fallacy. The exciting causes 
of grease are, improper food, neglect, filth, and allow- 
ing the horse to stand with the feet and legs wet, and 
frost hanging to the hair after he has been put in the 
stable for the night. Chronic eczema, when expressed 
by an eruption other than that of grease, requires a 
specialty of treatment applicable to itself. The cure 
or treatment I do not intend to enter upon, as it is not 
my intention in the present series of articles. Besides 
the hippopodus are the sarcoptes that burrow in the 
skin: dermatodectes, that simply bite and hold on to the 
skin, and symbiotes, living together in large numbers, 



1/2 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



and piercing no further than the epidermis in search 
of food. 

Theexperiments of Herring, Hertwig, Gamgee, and 
others have proved that the mange insect may be 
transferred from the lower animals to man ; that they 
bore the human skin, erect galleries in it, and cause 
itch-like eruption. All, however, are agreed that they 
do not procreate in the human skin; that although those 
in attendance on mangy horses may suffer from the 
disease, they do so only slightly, and but for a limited 
period. 




Fig. 47, 
SAKCOPTES HIPPOPODUS. 

One form of lousiness in the horse deserves special 
mention — Phthiriasis, or poultry lousiness. Its com- 
mencement is instantaneous. The horse is seized with 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1/3 

violent itching; so sudden and irresistible is the desire 
the animal possesses to rub his skin against every resist- 
ing body near him, that he stamps and bites every place 
he can reach with his mouth, manifesting by his con- 
tinual movements the burning itching by which he is 
devoured. At night his torments increase, so much so 
that he tears his skin and carries portions away in his 
mouth, and denuding himself of hair and skin, suffering 
unsupportable torment. Acarida magna (or ticks) is 
another and a more general annoyance to the domestic 
animals. They are found on the skin of horses, and 
they attach themselves so firmly and deeply to the skin 
that it is impossible to remove them without tearing 
away the skin or leaving their heads imbedded, and 
they multiply so rapidly in hot climates that animals 
have been known to die of exhaustion. The most 
common of acari in the horse is the bot or gad fly, the 
embryo of which is seen adhering to the hair of the 
fore quarters and legs of the horse, especiall}^ in the 
month of August and in the fall. The eggs are 
d.eposited on the hair, the horse licks them oft, and 
they are swallowed into the stomach, where they 
develop and adhere to the mucous membrane of 
the stomach and bowels. It is very often that their 
presence is attended with fatal consequences. They 
sometimes riddle the muscular tissues of the intes- 
tines, the animal being thrown into great suftering, 
appearing like an attack of colic. Acari of every de- 
scription are the forerunners of debility and poor blood, 
in all animals, and ought to have immediate attention, 
should symptoms show themselves, but in some cases 
are not easily detected, except by the eye of experience. 



174 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



ACAlil AXD EXTOZOA. 

ROT IX SHEEP. 

The frequent occurrence, insidious progress, and 
great fatality of the "rot," places it ctt the head of the 
most serious affections to which sheep are liable, in the 
lowlands of Scotland, fens of England, and on the con- 
tinents of Europe and America. The fluke, or distoma 
hepaticum, is the dread agent in this disease, causing 
great loss in sheep, and, indeed, in other farm stock. 
The present season is favorable for the work of this 
malady, and every sheep-owner would do well to study 
its character, cure, and prevention. 

Rot is one of the oldest diseases with which we are 
acquainted. The earliest writers make mention of it. 
It belongs to no particular country, and no part of the 
globe is exempt from its ravages. A fact of this kind 
is of much importance, because it disproves the theory 
that the disease owes its origin to deleterious grasses, 




Fig. 48. 



such as the carnation grass, etc. This grass, like others 
similarly regarded, grows only in wet and undrained 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1/5 

localities, and its existence is but an indication of dan- 
gerous pasturage from other causes. The supposed 
deleterious grasses do not grow in all the countries 
subject to rot, plants of a particular kind being limited 
in their distribution. Wherever the disease prevails 
the mortality is great, in the Eastern or Western Hem- 
isphere. In Germany it has destroyed thousands, and 
in the north of France the flocks are frequently swept 
awa}' by it. Youatt tells us that in the winter of 1809 
scarcely a merino in France escaped. It is destructive 
as far north as Norway, and in the most southern prov- 
inces of Spain. It has thinned many a flock in South 
America and Van Diemen's land, and in Australia it 
has occasionally been as destructive as on the worst 
undrained land in England. The veterinarian, many 
years ago, stated that it appeared every year in Egypt. 
It commences about the end of July; near Cairo, in 
August; near the Capital in October and November; 
and in the Delta in December, January, and February. 
It is most obstinate and continues longest near the con- 
fluence of rivers and streams. In lower Egypt it lasts 
about one hundred and twenty days. Its ravages are 
less when the rise of the Nile is not so great. The 
Arabs say that 16,000 sheep are annually destroved in 
Egypt, and that death usually ensues between the 
twenty-fifth and fortieth days after the attack. In this 
country, I will say, in brief, that undrained pastures, 
wherein are swamps, swales and stagnant pools, even 
when dried up, as we have experienced in some sum- 
mers, are hotbeds of propagation of the liver fluke, or 
distoma hepaticum, illustrated. I neglected to state 
that the view shown was an abdominal one and en. 



176 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

larged. The prevailing rains of October spread the 
embr3^o and carry it within reach of healthy flocks. 
Wherever fluke exists it is safe at all times, but more 
especially in the fall, to feed bran, oats, salt, and one- 
fourth ounce of sulphate of iron, mixed, to each full- 
grown sheep. Pound the sulphate of iron till it be- 
comes fine as flour, mix with a little flour of sulphur, 
and finally mix with the oats and bran. I have pre- 
scribed this for sheep, and every time with great suc- 
cess, even when the cornea had become yellow. In 
every case the sheep should be driven to the highest 
pastures. H}' datides, as well as fluke worms, are almost 
always attendants on rot. The former have puzzled 
the learned and unlearned for many years, and erro- 
neous views have been disseminated by writers having 
little practical knowledge of the subject. Some writers 
describe the disease as being essentially inflammation 
of the liver ; others regard it as a general dropsy, asso- 
ciated with chronic disease of the liver and impure 
blood ; and one author, a surgeon, contends that it is 
tuberculous disorder of the lungs. He says the lungs 
are the principal and primary seat of the disease. This 
has no foundation in fact. Sheep are not subject to 
deposition in the lungs of the aplastic material, which 
has proved so destructive to the human race. The 
small, hard lumps, holding calcareous matter, mis- 
taken by this author for tubercles, are the product of 
the filaria bronchialis, which, in the early stages of for- 
mation, present a pus-like appearance. A male parent 
worm, having served the chief purpose of its life, will 
be seen coiled up itself. It is about to die and become 
entombed in calcareous matter. Similar changes are 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 77 

believed to take place with the female, but these, from 
their great size and number, produce correspondingl}^ 
greater results, giving a flesh-like appearance to the 
lungs, here and there. Myriads of ova and young 
filaria will be found in these places, and by irritation 
they produce the changed lung structure in which they 
dwell. These are the revelations of the microscope, 
showing one form of entozoal disease to which sheep 
are especially subject. One of the earliest accounts we 
have of this disease was in 1735. One man lost two 
flocks, 300 head, another delayed too long in market- 
ing a large flock, and sold them at sixpence per head, 
all he could get. This rot came on so rapidly, and was 
so severe and general that thousands of sheep were not 
worth offering for sale. It was the most general of 
any recorded, as it attacked deer, sheep, hares and rab- 
bits that fed on the land where rain water was retained 
on or near the surface for any length of time, and dead 
bodies of rotted sheep were so numerous as to be a 
nuisance. A serious visitation occurred also in 1747, 
the result of a wet spring succeeding a ver}^ mild win- 
ter. Rain began to fall- in May, and continued through 
June to July, and a midsummer rot ensued. The year 
1766 witnessed another and far more serious outbreak. 
A very rainy season is bad for sheep, as was expe- 
rienced all over England and Scotland during that 
summer, when whole flocks died of rot. Other out- 
breaks are recorded in 1792, 1809-10, and at frequent 
subsequent dates. In 18 10 Mr. Fairbairn, Berwickshire, 
Scotland, lost eight hundred out of a flock of two 
thousand. The year of 18 16 was a very wet one, but a 
low temperature prevailed, and not a sheep took the 



1/8 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

rot. All that part of the country at that time was un- 
drained and growing in heath, on which the cheviot 
and black-faced, horned sheep thrive so well. On the 
irrigated meadows near large cities, which are covered 
periodically with city sewerage, every sheep that pas- 
tured for some time would contract rot, and young cat- 
tle also. • Enough has been said to show the cause and 
fatality of the rot, and that in every case it occurred in 
wet seasons. The time is near when agriculturists will 
be convinced of the necessity of draining all low and 
wet sheep pastures, to prevent this trouble. Sheep 
should also be watched closely as to their movements 
and color of their eyes. Weakness and debility are the 
forerunners of rot, to the eye of the experienced stock- 
man. Let readers take due precautions, and give the 
remedy prescribed, as a safeguard against the inroads 
of this disease, the coming season. 

FOOT-ROT I]^ SHEEP. 

Wherever the conditions of moisture and grit exist 
on the same lands, foot-rot may be expected to be rife. 
Whether the land be light or heavy seems to matter 
but little. The stiffest undrained clays and the lightest 
of undrained sandy soils are equally active m the pro- 
duction of the disease, which is tolerably general in its 
distribution. It is usually admitted that foot-rot is un- 
known where the soil is efficiently -drained. It is cer- 
tainly well known on soils which are so porous that the 
idea of drainage is scouted on the plea that the land is 
never wet enough, although we have had the satisfac- 
tion of hearing these owners admit that in the dryest 
seasons on such soils the disease is less prevalent. The 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



179 



rapid extension of foot-rot among the flock is easily ex- 
plained when all are exposed to the same influence. If 
there is sufficient wet to soften the horn and dilate the 
canals it is only necessary, further, for gritty particles 
to be present to complete the requisite conditions for 
the production of the effects. All the evidence obtained 
by investigation tends to prove that foot-rot only 
spreads under the influence of causes which act 
mechanically upon the structures, and are in no way 
connected with the development of a specific virus. 

I need not discuss the importance of perfect drain- 
age, but looking at the affection independently and the 
causes which give rise to it, the question occurs, can 
any remedies be applied to ameliorate or cure it while 




these causes remain? Experience decides in the 
affirmative. Indeed, so little difficulty attends the 
treatment that every flockmaster has an infallible 
remedy, which certainly often succeeds in curing the 
affection about as fast as it is produced, so that an 
average number of cases will always require attention. 
This may be considered as a normal state of affairs on 



l8o THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 

lands which give foot-rot. The routine is perfectly 
simple. Each sheep that indicates by his lameness the 
necessity for treatment is caught, and the detached or 
decayed loose horn of the foot pared off with a sharp 
knife; sometimes the entire hoof requires to he pared 
away, and every exposed surface made clean. Our 
first effort is to arrest the development of the malady 
or to prevent its occurrence, by any means which can 
be devised to render the feet less susceptible to the ac- 
tion of the deleterious influence to which they are of 
necessity exposed in certain localities. This is of more 
importance than the treatment of the disease in its 
worst forms. By occasional examination of sheep 
among which foot-rot is prevalent, the first symptoms 
will be detected and a check put to the further spread 
of the disease. It is too late whenever the sheep tell 
their own sad story by creeping on their knees, to keep 
in existence, and present only a mass of skin, bone, and 
clotted wool. Foot-rot is such a distressing disease 
and throws sheep so quickly out of condition that it is 
better to leave unhealthy pastures unstocked for a few 
months rather than run any risk. The disease yields 
readily to proper and thorough treatment. Every part 
of the diseased structure must be cut away. If possi- 
ble, then, drive the sheep through a gravelly stream of 
water, and then apply the Royal Solution for a large 
flock. But a small flock can be more easily dealt with 
by examining every foot, and using the solution onCe is 
enough for recent or mild cases. In its most malignant 
f()rm butter of antimony, mixed with an equal amount 
of compound tincture of myrrh, is effectual. This is an 
active caustic and must be used with care, applying it 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. l8l 

with a sponge. Prof. Williams recommends this above 
all other remedies. Compound Hoof Ointment, ad- 
vertised in this work, is the best remedy I have seen 
used. If a sheep is seen to be lame, catch it, cut off all 
loose and diseased horn, and apply the ointment, with 
a piece of cotton batting stuffed between the digits, 
and tie a piece of canvas or sheepskin over the foot. 
Keep in a clean place for a few days. I have seen 
sheep that went on their knees for one week or 
more, rise up and travel almost as well after being 
treated with this ointment as though nothing was 
the matter. To prevent foot-rot, Scotch shepherds 
sometimes use a solution of arsenic two lbs., washing 
soda two lbs., and water, ten gallons. This boiled 
slowly down to eight gallons, and the hoofs sponged 
with it, after cleaning them off, or place the solution in 
a shallow trough and drive the sheep through it. It is 
claimed that foot-rot is unknown in flocks Avhere this is 
used occasionally. Various names, which are more or 
less expressive of certain conditional states of the sys- 
tem, are used in different localities to designate this 
affection. The one which is more generally applied is 
that which we have preferred to use in the articles, 
namely, ''rot." It is not difficult to see that this term 
has its origin in the evident unsound state of the ani- 
mal during life, and, in fact, of the body undergoing 
quick putrefaction after death. Rot, however, like the 
majority of names employed, both in this country and 
Europe, fails to convey a sufficient exact knowledge of 
the pathology of the malady. It is by no means easy 
to find a term which will do this, and which, at the 
same time, is also a suitable one for adoption by the stock 



1 82 THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 

breeder in general. The German term, Egelseuche, is 
certainly far more expressive than many others ; but 
even this does not admit of a better translation than 
the fluke disorder or infection. French veterinary sur- 
geons usually designate the disease cachexie aqueuse, 
which points to the dropsical condition of the organ- 
ism of the animal in an advanced stage of the malady, 
referable to a bad state of the body. By the common 
people of France it is called pourriture, or rottenness, 
and other terms nearly allied to this are also similarly 
employed. In the western part of England, and par- 
ticularly in Somersetshire the disease is known as 
bane, the probable origin of the name being the bane- 
ful or injurious effects which attend its progress. In 
Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall it is called co- 
vathe or coade, which is derived from the Welsh term, 
cothe, meaning a sickly or fainting condition. The 
word coathe, in Norfolkshire, is expressive of a person 
in a fainting, sickly, poor condition, therefore, the above 
term is in common use to imply that the sheep is 
incapable of exertion. It may be quite in place for me 
to remark that there are several diseases affecting sheep 
which pass by the common term, Rot, a fact that explains 
why various opinions are entertained with regard to the 
disease by different authors. We occasionally hear 
or read of such terms as water rot and fluke rot, which 
would induce a belief that in one variety of the disease 
a dropsical condition of the body existed, and in the 
other certain entozoa, commonly designated flukes, are 
located in a particular part of the organism. I desire 
to confine myself to the word rot, although we call it 
braxy in Scotland. My next article will give the treat- 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 83 

merit of rot under their local names, in Egypt, Circas- 
sia and borders of the Black Sea, Germany, France, 
Spain, England, and Scotland. 

FOOT-KOT. 

The foot-rot in sheep commences between the claws 
of the hoof, where it causes irritation, heat, and usually 
from the first, slight lameness. There is a very pun- 
gent, acrid, and offensive stench present. This is one 
of the surest tests by which those acquainted with the 
disease judge of its presence. It gradually works its 
way round under the hoof until it is loosened, and the 
whole hoof is a mass of offensive disease ; and often, 
where it has been permitted to run for any length of 
time, a number of flocks may be seen feeding upon 
their knees. Usually, at that stage, the foot becomes 
fly-blown, and often a large number of maggots may be 
taken from the foot. Of course this is very painful to 
the victim, and rapidly reduces the flesh and strength 
of the sheep ; but being confined in its immediate work 
to the locality of the foot, it is surprising how long the 
poor victim will endure the strain; and it sometimes 
may recover without curative aid being applied. With 
such a disease, the treatment must be heroic, and very 
thorough. The whole flock — every foot even in the 
flock — must be examined. All must be trimmed care- 
fully, and from every diseased foot the hoof carefully 
cut away, just as far as the disease has spread under it, 
even if the whole has to be cut entirely from the foot. 
To every foot, whole or diseased, must be faithfully 
and carefully applied, with a swab, gargoline, that has 
never failed to cure. 



1 84 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

FOUL FEET. 

I have a cow that has sore feet. There is matter 
between the hoofs and swelled over the top of the 
hoofs. She does not care to stand and lies most all the 
time. What can we do to cure her? Her feet are 
awful hot. 

Wash the feet well with hot alum water and a little 
carbolic acid, mixed, several times a day, and then keep 
the feet clean and dressed with hoof ointment. 

SOILING. 

Soiling cattle is one of the most satisfactory en- 
gagements that a dairy farmer can practice. In local- 
ities where cheese making is carried on the cows begin 
to drop their calves at a season of the year just suited 
to supply the cheese factory or creamery. All goes 
well with a full supply of milk till the pasture begins to 
fail, when the supply fails as well. In order to prevent 
a shortening of the supply of milk soiling is and has 
been found the most profitable policy to pursue, as at 
that time the cows have hard work to get a living. 
What with cropping short innutritions dry grass and 
fighting flies the living profit of the farmer is cut short 
by a reduction of the milk supply. How can it be pos- 
sible for a cow to keep up the supply of milk standing 
in the shade tormented with flies, or in a quagmire of 
mud knee deep, when very little expense would have 
them comfortably housed in the barn, chewing their 
cud, and, instead of suffering, enjoying ease and com- 
fort. Cattle that are brought into the barn at lo a. m., fed 
green food once or twice between lo a. m. and 4 p. m., 
keep up their milk supply all the season, and, instead 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 85 

of having a herd in September and October that are not 
paying for their keep, they are just as flush of milk as 
if they were two months calved. A farmer having 
prepared a piece of ground in the early fall, sowed 
with winter rye, can have the best of soiling feed to 
teed early, so as to save his pasture when it is most 
needed. During the heated term cows turned out 
after having been kept in the barn, cool with plenty of 
free air for six or seven hours, and all milked clean 
before turned out at five p. m., after the heat of the 
sun is over, are fresh, and get to work right away to 
feeding, and lying out all night, when taken up in the 
morning, give two full meals of milk of a superior 
quality than if it came from fevered cattle, as we gen_ 
erally have it. Milk from a cow that is kept in the 
barn during the day and fed, free from the sun's scorch- 
ing rays, is better milk, richer in cream, more of it, 
and will keep longer in good condition. I think I hear 
some one say that will never pay. I say try it and be 
convinced. The ground that was sown in the fall 
might be sown to clover at the time, or just when the 
March frosts are heaving the surface, and that same 
ground might produce two good cuttings of rye, and 
in the fall a cutting of clover. But in order to keep up 
the supply of soiling food in May, a few acres of millet, 
mixed with barley, might be sown. To keep up the sup- 
ply at the end of August, when our pastures are gen- 
erally run out, plenty green food, such as the aforesaid, 
is the life of stock and profit to the farmer. What is 
the use of any man following a business that does not 
pay him ? What pleasure has a farmer in seeing his 
cattle starving when he has it in his power to feed them ? 



1 86 THE STOCKBREEDERS' MANUAL. 

Millet, producing tons to the acre, I think is superior 
to sowed corn, as the seed, when in the milk, is one of 
the most valuable feeding materials that can be produced 
on the farm, either for milk cows, feeding steers, calves, 
sheep, or horses. Hogs are very fond of it, and sheep 
will eat it in preference to any other kind of food, as I 
have tried it in all cases. Ten acres of rich ground is 
enough to supply twenty cows all the season with soil- 
ing food, as I have mentioned. In the fall the cows are 
in good condition to go into winter quarters, and are 
more easily kept in good condition than if they were 
turned into winter quarters, skin and bone, and dried 
up by force of circumstances. Any of the cows that 
may not be wanted to keep over can be fed a little 
grain, and sold for beef to give a return, nearly filling 
their place with young stock to begin the season again 
with. Every farmer that will take a reasonable view 
of the matter will never stick and see so many difficul- 
ties in the way as prevent him from making the most 
of everything. A reaper may be needed to cut the 
green food. But that will be more than paid for the 
first season. A single load of soiling food will feed 
twenty cows easily for one day. Of all advantages, 
that is the best, instead of cows going dry in October, 
simply because the milk is not needed. They can be 
milked right on till within one month of calving. 
There is no forcing in this kind of treatment, and the 
extra manure that is preserved is worth all the expense 
to the farmer. The day is not far distant when this 
practice will be carried out, and the silo, the next, 
after the soiling is over, will carry the cows of the 
farm as the most remunerative kind of stock feed 



THE STOCK BREEDERS* MANUAL. 1 87 

that the farmer or dairyman can keep. Farmers that 
supply the city with milk ought not to lose a moment 
in following the practice. The stock would be at all 
times more healthy, as there is not the sudden change 
from green to dry food, as we have when taken from 
grass and put on dry hay or corn stalks. Constipation, 
impaction, and inflammation of the bowels would 
soon become a thing unknown, and, instead of slaugh- 
tering a cow because she is calving, so as to get some 
benefit, the herd is free of any bad result from dry feed- 
ing, and many a good cow saved to roam the green pas- 
tures to be a source of profit another season, instead of 
her bones lying bleaching in the woods. 

SUMMER DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Every year, in July and August, I am requested to 
answer inquiries regarding peculiar diseases that I find 
do not take place or show themselves at any other 
season of the year. Among the first that is noticed 
comes in this form : " Dr. G. Stuart, please advise me 
as to my cows. They were all well a week ago, but 
since I changed their pasture, they have taken sore 
eyes. Some of them seem as if they were blind, as they 
do not care to open their eyes ; they run water at first 
and then a white scum comes over the eyes. They 
seem to suffer pain, as they are afraid to let them be 
examined. I have had my horse affected the same way 
before. It cannot be the hot sun, as they have plenty 
of shade and water. Do cattle take moon bhndness like 
horses? What can cause the inflammation, as some 
of them have bloodshot eyes, as if they had been struck ? 
It must be contagious, as first one took it, and then 



1 88 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

another, till now they all have it. I have seen sheep 
and lambs have the same disease. We were advised 
to use a weak solution of nitrate of silver, and where 
the eyelids were raw and sore, we touched the raw 
places with the caustic in a quill. Some of the sheep 
went blind under that treatment. Some eminent vet- 
erinary professors believe it to be a sort of epizootic 
ophthalmia ; I am willing- to convince them by practical 
observation. When hunting woodcock in August my 
setter dogs took sore eyes. When feeding them at 
night I noticed them rubbing their eyes till they be- 
came red and quite bloodshot. I washed their heads 
clean. As the yellow pollen that had dusted our legs 
caused a disagreeable choking sensation, when we 
were walking among the ragweed in bloom, I came 
to the conclusion that that was the cause. Always 
after I noticed particularly that wherever my dogs 
were hunting in ragweed pollen they were less or more 
annoyed by the vegetable dust when in flower. * * * 
I often had dogs brought to my office for treatment with 
sore eyes, red, opaque colored, and ulcerated on the 
edges of the eyelids, or raw and sore all round, caused 
by scratching the irritated part with the hind feet ; I 
treated them in every case with soothing remedies, 
never using anything of a caustic nature, as far as I 
could help. I have had horses time and again affected 
the same way, and colts that were only one month old 
suffering from pollen irritation. This summer a com- 
pany of friends had a picnic, where they cut a few 
nosegays of rag weed, and brought them to the city. 
Every one that had been enjoying themselves, rolling 
among the weeds till their hair and clothes were yellow, 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 189 

became the subject of sore eyes. 

RIXGIXG A BULL. 

This operation is often attended with considerable 
risk, both to the operator and the animal. The illustra- 
tion shows the proper method of securing the bull so as 
to be perfectly safe. Put a strong rope around the 
horns, and tie to a post or beam, so as to have the head 
well up. Seize the under jaw, and place a half-inch 
rope-twitch around it, drawn firm by a half-twist, with 
a three-foot handle, as represented. The assistant stands 
close to the left side of the animal, holding firmly, so as 
to keep the bulkhead in position, giving the operator^ 
who stands in front, perfect freedom. The operator 
seizes the front of the nose with a pair of pinchers, such 
as smiths use, and draws it out well. With the fore- 
finger feel where the cartilage is, and in the edge, a 
little up, insert the trocar and canula, which must be 
within handy reach. Draw out the trocar, but leave 
in the canula in the wound. Let go j^our hold with 
the pinchers; take the ring which is ready, open, and 
place the thin end in the open end of the tube of the 
canula; draw the canula and ring through together; 
press the ring together, and put in the screw, and the 
work is done. We have always found a copper ring to 
be the best, as it is not so brittle as iron. A little tinc- 
ture of myrrh, or tincture muriate of iron, will soon 
relieve the pain by applying it to the nose as soon as 
the ring is secured, and no bad result will follow. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. I9I 

PLEUROPNEUMONIA 

AS IT EXISTS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES. 

The disease called by this name is equally alarm- 
ing and fatal wherever it exists, whether in the tropics 
or the temperate zones. It spreads with fearful rapidity, 
and undisturbed, would soon result in the total extinc- 
tion of the bovine species. Its true name, as stated 
above, may not be so well understood or so applicable 
as the name applied in this country — the lung plague 
of cattle. It is understood to mean inflammation of 
the pleura or fine membrane that covers the lung and 
inside of diaphragm, or inflammation of the substance of 
the lungs. By different writers it is presented in three 
forms, varying in early and latest stages, viz.: conges- 
tion, the earliest stages; enlargement, or the acute 
stage; hepatization, or the advanced stage; purulent 
infiltration, having possession of the vital parts, filling 
every part and section with solid, black, fibrous 
matter, resembling clotted blood, rendered solid by a 
mixture of adhesive, waxy substance called bacilli, in 
solid clusters. 

The incubation of disease, from the period of ex- 
posure to contagion and appearance, is variously stated 
by different authors at from ten days to many weeks. 
But the fatality is not the same to all. Some animals 
exposed to the contagion will not contract the disease, 
but resist its influence; others, again, undergo only a 
mild and brief indisposition, but these cattle carry the 
disease and infect whatever cattle they come in con- 
tact with. 



192 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

No breed is more exempt than another. I knew 
of a cow, bought in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, 
taken to a cow feeders' byre at Cannon Mills, that was 
afterward known to have had a slight touch of lung 
plague, and she infected every cow in the bvre, twenty- 
six in number. All of them were sent straight to the 
slaughter house, where a number were condemned as 
diseased beef, unfit for human food. It fell to the lot 
of the writer to condemn fat cows from the same byre, 
that came under his jurisdiction as Cattle Inspector. 

Singular as it may appear, every one of these 
cows died, or was slaughtered as soon as symptoms of 
disease appeared. Applied science has been exhausted 
in the endeavor to counteract the disease, in every 
citv of Great Britain, her colonies, and the different 
nations of Europe, but without success. Vaccination 
in various forms and circumstances, has been tried and 
persevered in. for the purpose of checking the disease, 
but I have failed to find a successful report in any in- 
stance. We have inserted the virus in each side of the 
dewlap, between the shoulders, behind the ears, in the 
flank, thigh, and tail. In some cases no noticeable 
change occurred until the cow sickened and died : in 
others a hard tumor would appear at the point oper- 
ated upon, the size of a hen's egg. Every one that 
showed the effects of the vaccine and produced a pus- 
tule, died within eighteen days. I have prepared the 
Ivmph from hepatized lungs, in the Xew Veterinary 
College, Lothian Road, Edinburgh, for the following 
eminent veterinarians : Professors John Gamgee, Jr.: 
Hon. James Law. L^tica. N. Y. : Arthur Gamgee, of 
the Chemical Laboratory University, Edinburgh, and 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. I93 

Chemical Lecturer, N. V. C. ; Prof. Bouley, Imperial 
Veterinary College, Alfort, France ; and last but not 
least. Prof. Chauveau, of Berlin, who paid me a second 
visit during the prevalence of cattle plague in 1863, and 
in no case did we ever get a successful result, but spread 
the disease wherever we experimented. I accompa- 
nied Professor Dick and Strangways, of the Clyde 
street College, to a byre of healthy short horns at 
Cherry Bank, near New Haven, where the best sani- 
tary care was in every day practice. The owner had 
incurred no loss on these premises from lung plague, 
but as a safeguard against the inroad of the disease, we 
vaccinated every cow in the byre. When operated on the 
tail it sloughs off, and in every case before the tail would 
heal the cow died. We introduced the disease by the 
vaccine matter, and every cow died, or was slaughtered 
in a diseased state. I got into trouble with the two 
last named professors, as I protested against the op- 
eration, terming it very dangerous. Prof. Law will 
bear me out in the assertion that no one was a welcome 
guest at Clyde street who was a Gamgee. It is now 
twenty years. I made up my mind that vaccination 
for lung plague would only spread the disease wher- 
ever it was practiced on calf or cow, and experience 
since has demonstrated the fact. The good sense and 
judgment of our national commission, headed by Prof. 
James Law, the head of all successful experimenters in 
Great Britain, will decide in favor of the poll-ax as an 
exterminator, and drawing a cordon around the in- 
fected districts, and keeping up the ninety day quaran- 
tine. We have no need now of imported cattle. Our 
resources far outnumber either Great Britain or Ger- 



194 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

many. Should the lung plague ever find a foothold in 
our Avestern herds, nothing short of annihilation would 
put a stop to the ravages of the disease. 

UMBILICAL HERNIA. 

The proper attention to the umbilicus of the colts 
and calves at the time of birth is olten neglected by 
farmers. Such neglect is often shown by the attacks 
of such diseases as joint-ill, hernia, inflammation of the 
small intestines, and kindred ailments. Permitting a 
newlj^-born animal to lie on a wet floor, covered with 
straw saturated with urine, containing uric acid in its 
most active form, exposes the young thing to danger of 
ulceration, through contact of the umbilical wound 
with the poison before it has time to heal. Giving the 
proper attention at birth is, as the saying goes, hall the 
battle in the starting of the animal in life, of health 
and profit. As soon as a colt or calf is dropped, the 
umbilicus and remnant of the cord should be washed, 
and some healing ointment applied. This ointment 
ought to be kept in every stable, barn, or byre, ready 
for use when needed. This application of ointment 
prevents any danger of inflammation, and thus often 
saves the life of a valuable animal. Often it is neces- 
sary to put on a compress, and in order to show how to 
do this properl3^ the accompanying illustration is 
given: A is the broad girth which is strapped around 
the animal after it has been thrown by the aid of the 
tackle at I, E, which is secured to cross ropes or bands, 
fastened to each fetlock of the animal. If there is her- 
nia., it can be pressed back, or reduced, when the ani- 
mal is thrown, and is lying quietly on his back. If the 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 95 

Dowels are empty, the hernia often goes back without 
any manipulation whatever. But, if the intestines are 
full, the hernia must be pressed back very slowly and 
carefully. When all is in proper shape, raise the hind 




Fig. 51. 

part of the animal, by lifting it several times by its hind 
feet, so as to spread the omentum and intestines into 
their proper positions. This will prevent any danger 
of introsusception, or choking of the bowels. Draw 
the edges of the abdominal muscles as closely together 
as possible, then put over the wound a well-covered 
pad of cotton, and draw the bandage tight over it at A. 
Let the animal rise to its feet, and adjust the tackle 
straps G, so that the bandage will be held firmly in 
place. Remove the ropes from the feet, and all is well. 
In many cases no further attention is needed. This 
tackle, or appliance for throwing a cow, bull, or steer 
can be used in handling the most obstinate animal. 
There is less danger than in any other way, as by draw- 
ing the fore legs together, the animal is rendered inca- 
pable of resistance, and all liability to injury is obviated 



196 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

Another point is that there is no extra expense for pul- 
leys, or long ropes, as any short piece of rope that is 
strong enough will do. 

EFFECT OF FOOD 01^ MILK, BrTTER, AXD CHEESE. 

The various means adopted b}" dairymen and cow 
feeders to mcrease the quantit}' of lacteal fluid is a 
question that ought to be studied b}' every one con- 
nected with the production and use of milk. 

In the countr}^ where a farmer keeps cows lor 
butter, a certain mode of feeding is the rule, and for 
the special manufacture of cheese, the same. When 
butter and cheese are both wanted, a double demand is 
required of the milk, and food should be given in ac- 
cordance with this demand. 

With the citv cow the food consists of swill col- 
lected from hotels and boarding houses. It consists of 
every imaginable material — digestible, indigestible, 
poisonous, fungoid, bacteria, bacilli, old, rotten, 
greasy dishcloths, soap, dead rats, etc., and kept in a 
sour, putrid mass. A common cry is, " Where shall I 
throw this ?" and the answer invariably is, *' In the 
swill barrel." I have been called to extract the neck 
of a glass bottle from a cow's gullet, obtained in the 
swill. 

How on earth can kitchen slops, scraps from the 
table, vinegar pickles, and putrid meat make good, 
healthy milk ? But the • brewers' grains and glucose 
swill, undergoing fermentation and putrefaction, are 
the fountains from which flows the nondescript mass 
of our so-called pure milk. No wonder that the general 
complaint is, "the milk will not keep from morning till 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 1 97 

night without becoming putrid and unfit for human 
food." Who can wonder at the infant mortality and 
the prevalence of fevers, to say nothing about the dys- 
peptic, tape-worm sufferers, etc., that the city furnishes? 

The farmer who feeds for butter, without consider- 
ing the character of the food — say grass, corn-stalks 
and clover, without meal or grain — does not know, per- 
haps, that he is not getting the full benefit of his cows' 
produce. He plods on day after day, taking what he 
can get, without thinking for his own benefit. The 
cow kept for butter and cheese requires food rich in 
caseine and fat-forming elements, such as bran, crushed 
corn and oats, well steamed so as to be easily assim- 
ilated, with other bulky food, oil meal, boiled potatoes, 
turnips, mangel wurzels. Brewers' grains and glucose 
are not butter or cheese producing foods, and no fer- 
menting food is healthy for milch cows in any capacity. 
The crowning food of all is barley meal, bean meal, 
pea meal, and lentils. With these, the butter takes 
on that bright annotto color, having a sweet, firm, 
nutty taste, and both milk and butter keep their flavor 
and color better than when fed on any other kind of 
food. 

Raw turnips give the milk a rancid smell, and the 
butter has a sort of nip to the taste. Butter or cheese 
made from the milk of swill-fed cows will not keep 
sweet or fresh many hours. The cheese becomes hol- 
low and foetid, watery fluid fills the space ; in a short 
time it will fall to pieces, giving off a loathsome smell, 
and instead of weighing sixty pounds as it did when it 
left the press, it will not weigh forty pounds in ten 
days after being placed in the drying room. 



198 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

This is proof that the food must be adapted to the 
purpose for which the cow is wanted. It makes no 
difference what the breed of cows is. Any breed that 
will give a large flow of milk should be selected, if 
quantity is wanted. If quality is desired, it can be im- 
proved by feeding and good care. Milk is a highly 
nitrogenous and ossiferous food, as nature is first con- 
cerned in growing the frame developing blood, bone, 
and muscle. 

An every day example can easily be given to prove 
that a grass-fed cow will only give one pound of butter 
to twenty-five of milk, when a corn mea diet will give 
one pound to ten of milk ; and a cow fed on bean or 
pea meal has been known to give one pound of butter 
to six of milk — -and milk of a superior quality is left 
after the cream has been taken off, with caseine of the 
richest kind and best adapted to the manufacture of 
cheese. The Cheddar of the English, Old Paddock, 
and Yorkshire, I think, excel the Gouda of Scotland, 
unless the cows are fed on bean meal. Swiss cheese 
requires a large percentage of cream to come up to 
that made of milk produced from bean or pea meal. I 
have no hesitation in recommending beans imported 
from Great Britian, to feed our cows when on pasture, 
or a more profitable plan to soil with while the cheese 
factory is in operation. American cattle would then 
gain a point for perfection of product, unequaled in 
the world, and their butter and cheese would command 
the highest price in the markets of Europe, as well as 
at home. 

We must keep in mind that apparent bulk of 
cream is no surety as to yield of butter, nor bulk of 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 199 

milk a test for the yield of curd. Every cow fed on 
grass, clover, or cut corn-stalks either in the field or 
soiled m the byre, is improved in flesh, milk, butter 
and cheese, if fed a reasonable amount of corn meal. 
Especially is this true of the aroma and flavor of the 
products. An important point is to have an article of 
first-class quality, that will keep till the season when it 
can be sold at the highest price. 

kaisi:n^g farm stock with profit. 

In several districts of Ohio it will not pay to raise 
colts, as the risk and length of time before they are fit 
to work are against them, compared to other kinds of 
stock. It is cheaper to bay a horse and have a choice 
than to raise a colt. The production of Texas, Chero- 
kee, and Indian beef, at so low a figure, prevents the 
Eastern farmer from feeding fat cattle to leave a profit ; 
even feeding an old cow that is down in condition is a 
loss, but the policy to be pursued in that case is to keep 
the cow as long as she pays, or sell for what she will 
bring, or kill and sell the hide, boil up the beef to feed 
hogs and poultry, saving all the tallow. 

A great number of the readers of this work feed 
and raise cattle for the supply of city dairies, and will 
be a little interested to have the practical views of a 
practical breeder. My stock consists of pure Jerseys, 
and my practice is to take the calf from the cow 
immediately after calving, away to another part of 
the barn, to keep the cow from fretting, and not al- 
low the calf to suck ; but milk the cow three times 
a day during the heavy flow of milk. My prac- 
tice is to feed two calves from one cow's milk, giving 



200 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

one quart to each calf, with a raw egg switched in it, 
three times a day for the first week. The second week 
I feed one quart of warm milk from the cow, and one 
pint of skimmed milk, with one teacup of linseed gruel 
added, for each calf. The third week I give two quarts 
of skimmed milk, one teacupful of flaxseed gruel, and 
one pint of oat-meal gruel to each calf, comfortably 
warm ; and the fourth week, what skimmed milk can 
be spared, with a proper feed of mixed food, as stated, 
and as soon as possible, buy another pair of calves one 
w^eek old and treat as above. But see that the new- 
bought calves are not constipated from being fed on 
new milk; if so, give one pint of molasses, half an ounce 
of carbonate of magnesia, in the milk, so as to cause a 
gentle flow of the bowels, and remove any undigested 
food from them. By doing so you will not be troubled 
with white rush, as it is called. After the second pair 
of calves are one month old buy another pair, and pro. 
ceed as above, giving less milk and more gruel as the 
calves grow older. By the time a calf is six weeks old 
he will eat out of a feed box placed two feet high ; the 
food — cut hay, sowed corn-stalks, with ground oats and 
bran mixed, all steamed and fed a little at a time, with 
a drink of tepid water three times a day in cold weather. 
Keep them in separate stalls for two months, as if they 
are kept together they are apt to learn the habit of suck- 
ing each others' ears, and they will keep it up after 
turned out to pasture. 

Calves can be bought cheap at one week old in the 
fall, as there is no demand for them as in the spring. 
Whatever breed of calves is bought, if bulls, see that 
they are pure bred, as bulls will realize and sell quicker 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 20I 

than heifers, especially if Shorthorn, Hereford, Devon, 
Holstein or polled cattle, as the Western demand is so 
encouraging in price for flesh-forming cattle. Jersey 
or Ayrshire for home want, at six months, will realize a 
good cow's price. If Jersey heifers, at nine months 
have them served by the bull; if Ayrshires, twenty 
months, and others breed as soon as possible after. 
The cow that has brought up six or eight calves be- 
tween the months of September and June the follow- 
ing year, will forever put a stop to the opinion that 
raising one's own stock does not pay; besides, I have 
not lost sight of the cream and butter saved from the 
cows, which have brought a good price during the 
winter months, and have augmented the bank deposit 
to a favorable extent. 

Every farmer ought to plan to have his cows come 
in at the end of September, as the work of the farm is 
getting through, and dry up his cows about the end of 
June, so that no milking will interfere with the harvest 
operations, when every moment is so precious. By 
doing so, help in some cases can be dispensed with. 
During the winter, keep the calves warm, and in the 
spring, when turned out to pasture, do not turn them out 
if cold or wet, but see that they are well housed every 
night till the weather is warm, and no check to their 
growth will ever stint them. A summer cow is no 
profit to a farmer, as the butter sells at a small price, 
and the cows take up his time when he has no time to 
spare. No cow should be left out in the pasture from 
the beginning of June till October, fighting flies and 
losing flesh, but ought to be kept in the barn from 9 a. m. 
till 5 p. m., fed on cut clover or corn-stalks. The man- 



202 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

ure made while in the barn for five months will pay well 
for all the trouble. 

I have pointed out the above practical facts in no 
haphazard, theoretical way, but from practical experi- 
ence, and every farmer following the plan will be re- 
warded with the following results : First, by having 
better stock ; second, by making butter of the finest 
quality, and instead of selling at lo cents in summer, 
with double labor, will get 35 cents in winter, with half 
the work ; third, have more and better manure ; milch 
cov/s do not require so much exercise, as they get 
fatigued, and thereby the flow of milk lessens ; fourth, 
the labor of harvest is greatly lessened by having the 
cows come in after the heavy outdoor work is over. 

eco:j^omy IX feedi:n^g faem stock 

When the season has been dry, a source of anx- 
iety to all breeders and stock owners, scarcity of 
feed will drive farmers to extra exertion to keep farm 
stock in thrifty condition and secure a profit. Feeding 
raw food to cattle or horses is a great wasle, and causes 
serious loss to farmers or feeders. I will endeavor to 
prove, by a few simple experiments, which can be eas- 
ily tried by any one, that only one-half of the food fed 
raw goes to nourish the animal, while a fourth of it is 
used up to expel another fourth from the system, that 
has not been acted upon by the gastric juice. I hope I 
will be the means of causing inquiry as to the loss of 
grain fed to horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. 

Experiment first, August 10, 1881: Dry pasture, cow 
fed on hay and raw corn, two quarts, morning and even- 
ing. I took four ounces of excrement, dropped it into 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 203 

a glass of water, stirred well to break up the particles, 
let it stand till it settled, poured off the liquid part, 
washed it again till all the coloring matter is washed 
out, spread on a sheet of white paper. Then, with a 
magnifying glass, I found grain whose shell had not 
been broken, and the kernel as free from digestion as 
though it had never been fed. The result was five 
grains of corn, a quantity of hay and straw fiber, a little 
sand, besides a quantity of the shells or hulls of corn, 
with particles of kernel attached — all weighing one 
ounce and a quarter. I throw off the quarter of an 
ounce on account of the water absorbed, and arrive at 
the conclusion that there is a loss of one-fourth of the 
feed. 

Experiment second, August 13, 1881: Four ounces 
of horse droppings; horse fed on oats and hay, washed 
as before. Result — 32 grains of oats, a quantity of hay 
fiber, masticated, but not acted upon by gastric juice^ 
as the joints of the hay were quite hard ; weight of oats, 
hay, and undigested matter, one ounce — still a loss of 
one-fourth. 

Experiment third, September 27, 1881: Cow fed ex 
pressly to test the result of cooked food, but turned 
out in a small field a few hours each day, where grass 
is scant. Four ounces washed and cleansed as before. 
Found particles of corn cobs that had been ground, 
oat shells, with fiber of hay and straw, a little sand, and 
woody fiber picked up in the pasture — in all three- 
fourths of an ounce; all the starch, sugar, albuminoids, 
and hydrocarbonates fully digested and set free, the re- 
sult of steaming or cooking. 



204 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

Thus, by feeding raw food, we actually throw out 
at the window what has been brought in at the door, 
when a profitable reward can be gained by a little ex- 
pense and exertion. Besides, it is a pleasure to see the 
stock with shining coats, fat, sleek and thrifty, filling 
the bank book of their owner instead of growing poorer 
on scant rations of raw food. The way some feed, half 
of the pasture season is over before the stock gains flesh 
enough to give a fair return for food and labor. Such 
feeding is a loss to the farmer, making poor butter, poor 
manure, with a greatly increased quantity of food con- 
sumed. 

Grain or fodder that has not been masticated or 
chewed, but swallowed whole, generally escapes diges- 
tion in spite of the fact that they consist largely of di- 
gestible matter, because their hard outer shell or coat 
shuts up the latter in an impervious case, and, there- 
fore, are forced through the alimentary canal without 
having done any good whatever to the animal. In my 
experiment I find a large percentage of coarse fodder 
undigested when fed raw, but in short cut, well steamed 
or cooked food, I find nothing but fiber with all the al- 
buminoids and nutriment fully extracted. 

Should an animal digest 75 per cent, of its ration 
when supplied with a certain quantity of raw food, give 
that animal 25 per cent, of the same food extra, and 
only 75 per cent, will be digested, and 25 per cent, of 
the ration will be lost, and a third more having been 
used to carry the remainder through the bowels. Such 
is a true method to ascertain the loss sustained by feed- 
ing uncooked food. A cow giving four quarts at a 
milking, by feeding on steamed food will double the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 205 

amount in three days, and double the quantity of but- 
ter, of a bright and better color, easily got in the churn, 
and commanding a higher price. By cooking, all the 
nutriments of dry, coarse fodder are digested, and re- 
absorbed to the same extent as when it is fed green. 

Although it m.ay not be seen that such an extra 
amount of lost food has been evacuated, it is clear that 
only one-half has gone to support the animal system, 
while the 25 per cent, has been used to provide albumen 
to throw off the remaining 75 per cent. Of course 25 
per cent, is thrown off unacted on by the gastric juice. 
By the above mode of reasoning it appears that if a 
horse gets four quarts of oats uncooked, only two 
quarts go to support the system, and two quarts are 
thrown off as waste, owing to the amount of albumen 
required to keep the peristaltic action of the bowels and 
prevent constipation from taking place. How is this 
to be prevented? we ask. Cook the grain for a few 
hours before feeding, so as to swell the kernel and 
burst the shell, and one-third less of either corn or oats 
will do more to supply the demand than if given dry 
out of the bin. 

WEA^^ING AND CARE OF CALVES. 

The present season all through has been very 
critical to the breeder of stock, and the cold, showery 
weather is telling seriously on 3''Oung stock that is 
entirely dependent on the luxuriant pasture for sup- 
port. Although the feed is abundant, disease is lurk- 
ing near. Scouring is common, and many applications 
come to us for advice on prevention and treatment of 
hoove as the result of over-feeding on wet clover; 



206 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

pneumonia or pleurisy, as the result of exposure to 
cold and wet b}' h'ing out during the night. Weaned 
calves seem to show a depravity of appetite exceeding 
that of an}' other farm stock. They will even lick up 
sand till their stomachs have become unfit to fulfil the 
function of health. A lime heap, or old bark gnawed 
from a stump or fence rail disturbs the process of 
rumination and disease or death is sometimes the 
result. No calf ruminates while fed exclusively on 
milk ; not until the sumen has received the bulkv food 
can the action so pleasurable to more advanced age be 
carried out. 

Calves ought not to be weaned until they have at- 
tained the full capacity of sustaining the growing condi- 
tion, which they have kept while fall fed with milk. 
Every calf ought to have two good feeds of gruel, 
tepid warm, with sufficient salt to keep them growing 
and thrifty, and — as the term is used — keeping on the 
flesh. A swamp, or putrid pool of water in a calf pas- 
ture is another deleterious thing that ought to be 
avoided, as the animals are so apt to fly for protection 
from the tormentors of animal life, and gorge them- 
selves with the impure water, causing impurity of the 
blood, skin disease, and other ailments. This often re- 
sults in serious trouble to the breeder, who, without 
investigation, never thought what caused the loss or 
injured the health of his young stock. Marsh}' districts 
prove especially injurious to the health of young stock 
during the hot season, but more especially when they 
begin to find a change in the nutriment of the food 
they have been accustomed to. The rank sour grass 
that grows around swampy ground is eagerly eaten. 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 207 

Such food is deficient in nutrition, brings on a weakly 
condition, and as a result, the calves easily become a 
prey to disease. 

Under these circumstnces, the reading, intelligent, 
thinking farmer arrives at the conclusion that the pres- 
ent season with its humid, poisonous exhalations, a soil 
soaked with shower after shower and vegetation decay- 
ing all around, is a ver}^ unhealth}- one, and that the 
young stock especially should not be exposed to its 
influence during night or early morning. He sees 
plainly that the sun ought to be well up before young 
or old stock of any kind are to be exposed to the in- 
halation of miasmatic influence. We are in possession 
of facts to prove that the soiled stock are keeping the 
healthiest this season, and the loss of condition, ap- 
oplexy, hoove, pleurisy, etc., are all avoided by being 
kept in while wet and only turned out while the 
weather is suitable, a few hours each day. 

FEEDING MILCH COWS. 

A knowledge of organs of digestion, and of the 
process by which food is converted into milk, beef, etc., 
is essential to the success of the farmer. Fortified by 
this knowledge, understanding the laws of digestion 
and assimilation, he can not only feed to greater profit, 
but can prevent many diseases that find entrance 
through that channel. The object of this article is to 
explain the various changes that food undergoes, in the 
cow, until it is converted into milk, and to furnish such 
information as will enable the farmer to prevent disease 
usually resulting from digestive derangement. 



208 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

The natural food of all ruminants is of a succulent 
nature, as green grass. This food is slightly masticated 
and passes to the first stomach, thence to the second 
stomach, where it is rolled into balls and returned 
again to the mouth for rumination, is again returned to 
the second stomach, where the real process of digestion 
begins. The food then passes to the third stomach, 
where we find it imbedded in the laminge, the cuticular 
covering of which is singularlv constructed, being 
covered, as it were, with little hooks, the function of 
which is to prepare the food for introduction into the 
fourth stomach, where it meets the great distilling 
process, where the real secreting force is applied, re- 
ducing the entire mass to an assimilable state. Diges- 
tion proper ends here, but that of secretion continues, 
the small glands of the intestines contributing their 
fluids as the digested matter flows by, until every parti- 
cle has been acted upon and made ready to enter into 
the circulation. 

This is a brief explanation of the digestive process, 
but sufficient for our purpose. We propose now to ex- 
plain the difference of action in the digestion of dry 
food and of succulent or sloppy food, in all ruminat- 
ing animals. First, soft, succulent, or sloppy food pre- 
vents rumination or cud chewing, and dry or bulk}' 
food is, therefore, necessary to the complete process 
described. Rumination is involuntary. The animal 
can no more prevent it than it can prevent the heart's 
action. Here is a point that iatimately concerns ever}^ 
one who owns a cow. Whenever an animal ceases to 
chew the cud, some derangement of the S3^stem has 
taken place, from accident or disease. It is one of the 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 209 

first symptoms that become apparent. Fever, from the 
derangement, stops secretion. The milk that is se- 
creted from the blood, instead of flowing on in the 
healthy channel, is taken up by the circulation and pyae- 
mia or blood poisoning eventually results. 

Dry grain with bulky food, without the necessary 
liquid, engorging the rumen, will cause fermentation 
in that organ, and rumination ceases at once. Fever 
and non-secretion is the result. It is the custom of 
some to feed milch cows dry meal or grain, with no 
vegetable matter except in a dry state, and only cold 
water to drink. The result of such feeding, often, is a 
dry, solid, indigestible mass in the stomach, the residue 
of which, when evacuated, resembles pieces of black 
walnut, with a coating of mucus, streaked with blood. 

If a cow is fed dry grain, at any time, she should 
have some succulent food at the same time, as turnips, 
mangels, carrots, etc. Or what is safest, scald the grain 
with boiling water. This is not only safe but profit- 
able, either for milk or meat. When a cow is fed grain 
and hay, with only cold water, the digestive organs 
are tried to their utmost to extract the albumen from 
the food, 

THROWING CATTLE OK IIOESES. 

Every owner of stock ordinarily has any amount 
of straps or rope about his place, but very few are 
supplied with hopples made for the purpose of throw- 
ing animals. Some of our readers have seen the Rarey 
method used, and many have witnessed the old method, 
in which the animal is thrown upon its head, or on its 
side, with its head drawn under, nearly breaking its 




Fig. 52. 



THROWIl^G A COW. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 211 

neck. The method we practice is shoAvn in the illus- 
tration. 

It is our own, and employed with perfect safety 
and success in every case. Strap a strong surcingle 
around the chest. Strap the fetlock joints together, 
the closer the better. Then tie the draw rope to the 
centre of the hind feet straps, taking it over the fore 
feet straps, bringing it out between the hind legs as 
represented. 

Place plenty of bedding on the fioor, and a good 
bundle of straw on the side you intend to lay the ani- 
mal, so as to break the fall. Draw the halter strap 
into the surcingle, and let one person hold the end 
in front and draw the head gently in towards one side. 
The animal, a coav, for instance, will try to brace her- 
self against the force by moving her feet, and the assist- 
ant, having a steady hold of the draw rope, takes up 
the slack rope which is thus given. 

The four feet being drawn together firmly, the head 
to one side, the animal is quickly laid over on its side, 
just as you wish. No animal can rear up, as in other 
methods usually practiced, nor can any injury result, 
as is often the case. 

When down, remove the bundle of straw and place 
in position wanted, an assistant keeping the head down, 
after releasing it, so as to give the animal a straight 
neck. 

We have shown the two fore feet farther apart 
than is our practice, to show the portion of the draw 
rope better. It will plainly be seen that this method 
is simple, safe, effectual, and costs nothing for applica- 
tion. 



212 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



FRACTURES AND BROKEN LIMBS. 

During the seasons of severe frost we hear more 
of broken bones and fractures than at any other time, 
leading many to suppose that bony matter is more brit- 
tle than at other seasons. There is more slipping and 
falling, and the surface is as solid and unyielding as a 
rock. Every step must be carefully guarded, or the 
animal is down, and the result may be a broken leg. 
A severe stroke at any time, on the cannon or metacar- 
pal bones, may result in the same way. 

It is generally believed that a oroken leg, of cow, 
horse, etc., is without remedy; the animal is destroyed 




Fig. 53. 

at once, and the breeding world frequently sustains a 
severe and unnecessary loss. Broken legs can be cured, 
and in the ox species will be as good as ever, except 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



213 



the enlargement at the point of fracture. With the 
horse it is different. If it is the hind leg of a draft 
horse, it will never be as good as before, but may still 
be made useful in light work, and if a mare, as good as 
ever for breeding purposes. In running or trotting 
horses it renders them useless for those purposes. We 
have frequently been called to treat broken bones in 
all the different domestic animals. The treatment is 
about the same for the same locality of injury, in all. 
If a rib, a tight bandage wrapped around the chest 
will be sufficient, with rest and proper care. But if 
protrusion of bony splints should cause a wound of 
muscles, then a flesh wound must be treated also, and 
great care and skill are required sometimes to place 
the bones in proper position and keep them there, so 




Fig. 54. 



no defect may ensue. A broken leg in chickens, dogs, 
sheep, or calves will heal, and, if properly set, does but 
little injury. The only principle and practice is to keep 
them lying in a comfortable position, changing from 
side to side, occasionally, to give rest. 



214 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

With heavy animals, as a mare or cow, desirable 
to save for breeding purposes, the most successful 
method is the use of the sling, and the best style is 
represented in the cut. All the tackle used is explained 
in our veterinary work, except the safe protection of 
the rollers and stays at the upper part of the back. 
These should be bolted tight together to assist in keep- 
ing the animal in position, preventing her from falling 
forward. There should be a strong, broad chest strap, 
well fitted in place, so as to keep the animal a little 
higher in front than behind. The next great point is 
to see that no part of the tackle is chafing. Invariably 
feed light, nutritious food, keeping the bowels slightly 
relaxed, as otherwise fever may ensue, owing to the 
constrained position and tight binding of the leg. In 
feed, the attendant must hold the pail up, relieving the 
animal's head sufficiently; handfeeding of scalded or 
steamed hay ; occasionally let the tackle down a little, 
so as to let the weight rest on three sound legs. Saw- 
dust is the best bed for a slung animal, as it does not 
worry the animal to lav its head down on it, as does 
straw or hay. But never leave the animal a moment 
unless well slung up, for fear of falling forward or other 
accident. Our practice is to rest the foot of the broken 
leg by placing a bundle of straw beneath. The animal 
will soon learn to rest the foot thus. We do not like 
the blocks fixed to each side, and the sling open at the 
back, as the least struggle, when the attendant is ab- 
sent, throws the animal forward or back, hanging on the 
straps. The bars and rollers being bolted tight a few 
inches clear of the withers and back, pressure and chaf- 
ing are prevented, and the animal is held tight and free 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 21 5 

from injury. Cut and lit the canvas below, so as to 
cover as much- of the chest and abdomen as possible, 
but not to interfere with sheath or udder. After the 
animal is in a proper position, let an attendant stand at 
her head to pat and comfort, as the pain is apt to ren- 
der her unmanageable while the surgeon is reducing 
the fracture, "setting" the leg, or adjusting displaced 
splints. After the bones are set a broad bandage is 
sewed over the upper part of leg, saturated with arnica 
and opium, equal parts, oleaginous substances being 
used outside of bandage, on a layer of cotton batting, 
laced tight, on the same principle as the cavalry band- 
age. The splint, which is made of thin hickory, steeped 
in boiling water, is held by an assistant to the under 
part of the leg, in position, and the operator runs a thin 
solution of plaster Paris outside of cotton batting pad ; 
then the upper splint is placed over and inside, and 
plaster filled in, holding the leg down as much as possi- 
ble, the foot resting on the pad of straw, and the plas- 
ter poured in between the splints, filling every part. 
Bandage as tight as possible with pieces of strong cot- 
ton or linen, two inches broad ; it cannot be drawn too 
tightly on the outside, as the cotton batting will pre- 
vent any undue pressure. Having finished the opera- 
tion, and the surgeon sure that all is in right position 
so no defect will result when the bone has knitted, his 
directions are plainly and explicitly given to the attend- 
ant. All that is required is to saturate the upper part 
of the bandage with arnica and opium to relieve the 
pain while the healing process is forming. The weight 
of the shoe is sometimes very annoying to the suffer- 
ing animal, but better relieve the weight of the leg by 



2l6 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

the support of the straw, than have to soak the foot in 
hot water for an hour and cut the naiis out, as it is im- 
possible to use the pinchers in removing the shoe. The 
greatest care will be required to Avatch the case for the 
first week, as lock-jaw is apt to set in. Keep the bow- 
els cool by cooling drinks, gruels of flaxseed or oat- 
meal, and sulphate of soda or potash, with ten drops of 
arnica in a little cold water, often. This will overcome 
every difficulty to a successful issue. Fig. 54 represents 
the bone broken in an oblique direction, as is invariably 
the case. A, ospedis, or coffin bone; B, the lower pas- 
tern ; C, the upper ; D, the break ; E, the splint bones 
immediately articulated to the metatarsal or shank bone 
of the hind leg ; F, the large metatarsal bone. The 
bone of the horse is not so easily broken as the bones 
of cattle, as the animal is much thicker set over the 
osseous part, and are not so porous : but a stroke on the 
inside of the leg when the foot is raised from the ground 
will break the bone easily. A stone thrown at an ani- 
mal, and it strikes as noticed, w411 break a horse's leg. 
A very slight kick or stroke with a fork w^hile the foot 
was raised has broken many a leg, a fact known to com- 
paratively few persons. 

PAKASITIC DISEASE OF LUXGS IX LAMBS. 

'* My lambs are dying. We find on opening, the 
lungs containing needle shaped worms. " Or " we 
find small hard lumps on the lungs. " The needle-like 
worms appear to the naked eye as such. The lumps 
referred to are granular cells with a hard, oily, crys- 
talline deposit, to the touch, generally of an opaque 
gelatinous appearance, and are the deposit of the strong. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 21/ 

yllis filaria. Generally this opaque and semi-gelatinous 
material is observed toward the more healthy part of 
the lung in the shape of circumscribed masses, often 
not exceeding the size of an ordinary pin head, and if 
each small nodule be squeezed a gritty substance, the 
result of cretification of the above mentioned deposit, 
is felt between the fingers. Each nodule indicates a 
spot where the germs of the strongylus filaria have 
been deposited, giving rise to irritation and the exuda- 
tion of material around them. In this material granule 
and pus cells develop, and a fatty calcareous degenera- 
tion ensues. The eggs are of an oval shape. They are 
at first appearance transparent, but when fecundated, 
the yolk when formed adheres to a cellular mass hav- 
ing a coiled and elongated appearance and presents 
the external and internal organization of the strongylus 
filaria. 

The parasite, coiled on itself and alive in the cell, 
moves about, and at last becomes free and grows to its 
full size, passing out of the lung into the air passages, 
where it is coughed out and often deposited on the 
grass, likely to be eaten by other animals. How it at- 
tains the lungs to deposit its eggs is so far involved in 
mystery. Some writers believe that they find their 
way to the bronchial tissue through the circulation. 
Others again believe they pierce through the tissues 
frpm the stomach to the lungs; though from the eggs 
being universally disseminated into the circulation and 
stopped in the pulmonary capillaries, where they pro- 
duce irritation and the deposit before described. 

The strongylus filaria is a worm from one to two 
and one-half inches in length, the male smaller than the 



2l8 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

female and of a yellowish color, whereas the female is 
white. The body is of uiiiform size, but tapering at 
both ends. We are speaking directly by experience 
from the lens of the microscope and might describe 
further, but enough so as to be understood. 

Returning now to the parasitic disease of the lungs, 
it is clear that there are two distinct stages of the 
affection, the one mistaken for true tubercular disease, 
and the other when the worms are fully developed and 
lodged in the air passages. Dr. Crisp's theory is that 
the germs of the parasite are carried back from the 
stomach to the mouth in the act of rumination, and 
then finding their way into the trachea. As with the 
germs of the cysticerci, only the young sheep are 
affected, because they cannot pierce the tissue of the 
older ones. With this theory we do not agree, and 
would further state that these nodules which we find 
on the pleura of the lungs contain small worms and 
eggs. These parasites show signs of life on being 
moistened after being dried for one month, and even 
when having been immersed in spirits of wine, so very 
tenacious of life are they. 

Again, French writers say that the ova containing 
worms sink into the air passages, they being material, 
and are thus embedded in the lung tissue. This would 
lead us to believe that when worms are swallowed by 
healthy sheep, they immediately find their way into the 
windpipe. We must confess we doubt this. Of course 
the eggs of the worms developed in the lungs, and are 
deposited in the lungs again, or may move indirectly 
into the system of another animal, but the migration 
from the mouth or alimentary canal to the lungs cer- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 219 

tainly requires a better explanation. Anyhow the num- 
ber of worms met within the lungs of one sheep is quite 
enough to infect a whole flock, and then in that case, it 
becomes an entozoic disease. Another point we wish 
to observe, this is not hereditary, as we find the lungs 
of young lambs healthy. The development of the germs 
in the lungs is always attended with irritation. The 
changes going on in the early stage are associated with 
symptoms of spasmodic cough caused by irritation in 
the throat ; small worms get free, and are coughed up 
with the mucus on the grass, the sheep rubbing their 
nose on the ground and sniffing to remove the difficulty. 
We find a large accumulation of worms in the lungs 
leads to emaciation, anaema, and defective nutrition, 
with debility and dropsy. Concerning the prevention 
and treatment of this disease, it is only necessary to in- 
dicate the danger of attending the feeding of young 
sheep on pasture where older sheep have been. To 
prevent the disease, you require fresh and sound pas- 
ture, and it may be necessary to give a quantity of arti- 
ficial food, such as flour of sulphur, muriate or sulphate 
of iron, powdered gentian, etc. To cure the disease, 
inhalations of chlorine gas, sulphur fumes, externally ; 
internally, camphort, urpentine in linseed oil, or ether. 
The iron may be given from ten to twelve grains, daily, 
to a full grown lamb, with one teaspoonful of salt. Salt 
and sulphur for sheep is our motto for the destruction 
of both entozoa and acari. 

EXOIDES OR TEXAS TICK. 

I now present an illustration of it. The upper fig- 
ure is the natural size and appearance when the insect 



220 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



is gorged with blood. The lower figure is enlarged, 
showing the animal in a half-starved state. This para- 
site, as I said before, infests the Texas, Indian, or Cher- 
okee cattle. I am convinced that when transferred to 
our native cattle from southern cattle directly im- 
ported, they cause disease, which results in death in 
many cases. When Texas cattle are driven along the 
road the ticks fall off, and creeping up the grass and 
weeds, they attach themselves to the native cattle that 
happen to follow and come in contact. They creep up 
until they reach the flanks and hindquarters, and in- 
serting their proboscs soon transfer a deadly poison 




Fig. 55. 

into the circulation. The liver and spleen seem to be 
the first organs affected. The former is enlarged and 
softened, and the hepatic function rendered unfit to 
perform their part in the economy of life. The spleen 
is enlarged to several times its natural size, the blood 



[ THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



22 I 



becomes thin and watery, and comparatively incoagu- 
lable, with a deficiency of fibrine and red corpuscles. 
The urine becomes red and black before death ensues, 
showing hepatic disturbance. Southern cattle that 
have been north a few months will not communicate 
the disease when coming in contact with our native 
cattle — a case of the kind never being known. The 
agency of the exoides in communicating disease is de- 
nied by some, but after a considerable experience with 
actual experiments made to test the matter, I have come 
to the above conclusion, and will abide by record. 

BAD HABITS OF THE HORSE. 

We now illustrate and describe some of the bad 
habits of the horse in the stable. We feel sorry to ad- 
mit that an animal that has been so long in domestica- 




FiG. 56. 



tion as the horse, has, like his owners, a number of bad 
habits, besides other vices. Most of these, however, 
are to be laid to the charge of his owner. The cut 



222 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

illustrates the habit of halter pulling, and its cure. 
The colt will become a halter puller from ill usage or 
fear. Standing long, confined in an open stall, when 
the horse in next stall is taken out for work, the colt 
anxious for a change from the monotony of close con- 
finement, will pull on his halter, and do his best to turn 
around in his stall. In some cases that we have known 
wounds, and even poll-evils, were the result of pulling. 
In turning round, the colt sometimes has got the halter 
strap around the fore or hind leg and received serious 
injury from being thrown. The only known cure for 
such a habit is a small rope attached as represented. 
The habit once acquired by the colt in the stable is 
practiced when hitched outside, and when broke to 
harness will pull on the hitching strap, breaking the 
strap. Finding a hindrance behind, the}' will either 
commence kicking to get free, or run away. But the 
plan, either in the stable or in harness, is to apply the 
check line as a sure preventive, having the line a little 
shorter than the halter-strap. We once owned a mare 
that would stand quiet and safe without being hitched, 
but if the hitching strap was applied, would pull by her 
neck till she choked and fell. 

Cribbing and weaving are among the most com- 
mon of bad habits, especially the former, which is a 
very unpleasant and disagreeable habit. The horse 
lays hold of any object, as manger or hitching post- 
Many devices have been tried to cure the restless ani- 
mal from continuing the practice, but so far no perma. 
nent cure has been attained without inconvenience to 
the animal. The habit is first learned either from the 
dam or standing in the stable beside an inveterate crib- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 223 

ber and windsucker. Cleaning a horse in the stable is 
another cause whereby the habit is learned. It is the 
opinion of some veterinarians that a horse that is an 
inveterate cribber and windsucker is more subject to 
colic than any other not prone to the evil habit. This 
we emphatically deny, as no proof has ever been ad- 
duced that would substantiate the opinion. Flatulence, 
we would say, is the result, but no evil effect has been 
known to occur. A horse may leave the stable so 
much extended in abdominal proportions that one 
would suppose he was not able to go a yard, but the 
movement of a few steps would remedy the difficulty, 
and no evil resulted. We say emphatically — and our 
experience is founded upon a lifetime practice, besides 
being the owner of several cribbers — that the habit is 
incurable. While our experience convinces us that 
numbers of inveterate cribbers and windsuckers are in 
poor condition, there are other causes for it. The loss 
of food by seizing it firm between the teeth and drop- 
ping to the ground, results in some cases in only half a 
feed. The only means we have, without a test, to know 
a horse of this habit with which we are not acquainted, 
is by the incisor teeth being rounded on the front edge, 
the enamel being worn off by the continued cribbing. 
The horse is exceedingly irritable. The colt, before 
learning to eat, has been known to be a confirmed crib- 
ber, learned from the dam. 

Weaving is not so common, many a one having 
never seen a case. The horse only does it in the stable, 
vyhile standing idle. He will swing his head from side 
to side of the stall, like the pendulum of a clock, or the 
action of a polar bear when confined in his cage. Be- 



224 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

fore the purchase of a horse that shows the worn enamel 
of the front teeth, take a few oats and place in the man- 
ger, when the first mouthful will show the habit. The 
above are our views on cribbing, but we would not 
advise the purchase of any horse that has the habit. 

Restlessness is the cause of the disagreeable habit 
of pawing and kicking in the stall. It is such an an- 
noyance to the owner and attendant to take charge of 
a horse that will paw all the bedding from his fore feet 
before lying down, often causing injury to the fore 
parts of the pastern joint and knees. They are met 
with every day. The knee is calloused, and often 
swollen ; the fore part of the fetlock joint has the ap- 
pearance as if the hair was growing the reverse way, 
all caused by lying on the bare boards. All the bed- 
ding, however clean at night, will be pawed back and 
soiled in the morning, which, with a city horse, is a de- 
cided loss, much more so than with the farmer. But 
the remedy for such conduct is, in the city, to bed with 
sawdust, and in the countr}^ cut straw. There is no 
other preventive. Once the horse contracts the habit 
it is not easy to drive him from it. Stall-kicking is the 
most provoking of any vice, either injurious or other- 
wise. Many a device has been tried, but in a confirmed 
case no cure has been effected. A chain fastened to 
one of the hind legs, with one foot in length of the 
links free, so that when one foot is used to kick the side 
of the stall, the hanging chain will strike the other leg, 
and be the means of making the horse quit ; but bad 
results in every case ensue, and we would not recom- 
mend it. A rope has been placed behind the horse to 
keep him well up in the stall, but to no good. A strap 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 22$ 

fastened from the upper part of the fore leg to the fet- 
lock of the hind leg has been tried, but the horse, 
being afraid to lie down, bad results have followed. It 
is no uncommon practice with a mare in heat to be 
addicted to the vice at that time ; when in her normal 
condition it is foreign to her. The danger of such a 
practice to other horses in adjoining stalls is a common 
one. " Kicked in the stable" is nothing strange to us, 
it seems everyday language. If there ever was an 
irritating vice or habit that the horse is addicted to, 
stall-kicking within hearing of a family living in close 
proximity to the stable is certainly one of the worst. 
The horse seems to enjoy the continued rap. The 
sound seems a sort of pleasure to him, while the person 
sleeping near feels in a different mood, more like get- 
ting up to cut the kicker's throat, and forever putting 
an end to his stall-kicking. 

Cribbing. — Will 3^ou please inform me if there is 
any help for a 2-year old colt that is a cribber ? 

It is a habit often learned fi'om the dam. A tight 
belt placed around the throat on a horse while in the 
stable, but not safe in the field. A broad belt placed 
around the neck up to the throat, slack at first, and 
gradually tightened, will prevent it. 

C0RX8 OX HORSE'S FEET. 

We illustrate corns on horse's feet and their pre- 
vention. They occur in the best kind of feet, as well 
as the poorest. The seat of the corn is in the laminat- 
ed structures at the angles of inflection, or as may be 
better understood, the extreme point of the heel. They 
occur under fast exertion, the same way that a blister 



226 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

does to our heel under hard marches. The ecchymosis 
which follows the injury (and which is called the corn) 
is nothing else than after effect, due to gravitation of 
the blood-strained serum which is exuded. The corn 
is a reality. As its name implies, it consists in a horn 
tumor, at the angle above indiacted. These tumefac- 
tions reach to various proportions, from that of en- 
largement and increased density of the common horn 
laminae, to their' obliteration, and in their place, an in- 
troducing growth of smooth horn, more dense than 
that of any part of the hoof normally. 

Although I have represented it in our illustration 
on the inside of the off fore foot, it often happens that 
each side of the heel has a corn, or extravasation of 
blood in the horn tissue. We often hear it laid to the 
practice of bad shoeing. I am sorry to say that in a 
great many instances it is the case, but the owner is 
equally to blame, by allowing the shoe to remain too 
long on the horse, till it has been worn so thin as to 
bear too much on the heel in consequence of the horn 
or outside growing over the shoe, and therefore ex- 
travasation of blood caused b}^ pressure on the soft sole 
of the foot takes place, and the horse is lame in conse- 
quence. Again, in taking a colt to the smith to get 
shod for the first time, no one ever dreamed of looking 
for corns, as there are none ; but when the colt has been 
several times shod we are astonished to find that on 
cutting the foot, a corn is found ; the cutting and par- 
ing of the healthy horn has so weakened the foot that 
the least irregular prominence causing pressure on one 
part more than another, has brought the pressure of 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 22/ 

blood into the tissue of the horn and formed what is 
called a corn. The paring of the heel is bad practice 
at any time, but more especially in colthood, when 
every part of the foot is perfect. The effort of nature 
to fence out and strengthen, as man mutilates and 
weakens, offers a warning lesson to those who cut and 
destroy the sole of the hoof. We find that the more 
it is scraped away, and the extended cavity deepened, 
so relatively does the intrusion increase upwards, the 
tissues and cartilages making way becoming absorbed. 
The most common form by which the approaching crisis 
manifests itself in inveterate cases is by suppuration. 
This last state seldom arises until after the horse has 
endured long suffering from the corns, it is not usually 
the internal horn, tumors are found that sloughing of 
the parts and quitter are brought on. And this is im- 
portant to be understood, because a prevailing, vicious 
practice is in vogue, under the pretense of exploring, 
by cutting away the sole of everv lame horse in search 
of matter, and is supposed to give it vent. Blood only 
is found, and with that the searcher is satisfied, whilst 
mischief is done, such as takes long to repair, even 
when the patient gets under better care. The proper 
treatment of corns is a rightly applied system of shoe- 
ing, which our illustration will describe. When first a 
colt is shod do not cut or rasp any part of the horn 
down more than what is loose or irregular, but get the 
horn level and smooth, leaving the sole as you find it, 
firm, complete, and on no account to interfere with the 
frog. Fit the shoe in all its parts to have equal bear- 
ing, and do not allow the shoe to remain too long on 
the foot till the horn or weight bearing part has over- 



228 THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 

grown the shoe, for then the mischief has been done, 
and the poor animal has been made a sufferer for hfe. 
Every colt ought to have wide-webbed shoe at first, as 
a safeguard against irregular pressure. When a corn 
is once formed, the cut illustrates the best known 
preventive for the relief of pain and eradication of 
the corn, by having no pressure on the diseased part 
with the shoe. As illustrated, the three-quarter shoe 
is the only preventive against pain and suffering, and 
in almost every case a complete cure, as the shoe is 




Fig. 57. 

tapered a little thinner at the part nearest the corn. 
In winter calks are necessary in slippery weather, and 
are shown at A, B, C, and D, but in summer there 
is no need of them, as a smooth shoe is the best in order 
to get a regular bearing to the foot all round. At Ethe 
corn is shown, the shoe only coming within proper 
distance, not to interfere or cause pressure on the part 
involved. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 



229 



TONGUE LOLLING. 

It is considered by some that this habit is a disease, 
or a paralysis of the tongue, and like other diseases is 
beyond control of the horse. It is shown in fig. 58. 
Some suppose it is caused by certain kinds of bits, and 
that the tongue has been injured by the bit. There are 
several other things frequently given as the cause of 




Fig. 58. 



tongue lolling. It is a habit, and a very disagreeable 
one; slobbering when standing in the stall, and lapping 
the mucus of the mouth when driving. The habit can 
not be controlled in the stall, but by using the bit, fig. 
59, when hitched up, in most cases it is prevented. I 
have had experience with horses that could not be pre- 
vented with this bit, but fig. 60 prevented it entirely. 



230 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



One has a stationary addition to the bit in front of the 
straight bar and an obdurate loller will get the tongue 
under it, and slip the tongue on one side free of the ob- 




FiG. 59. 



struction. But fig. 59 also interferes with the closing 
of the mouth and is very hard, but painful for the 
mouth, while fig. 60 will remain flat in the mouth, hav- 
ing a revolving plate attached to the bar. When the 




Fig. 60. 

tongue is pressed forward or to one side, the pressure 
from the under side or forward side will cause a pres- 
sure on the pad of the tongue, and in a great many 
cases will cure the habit. 

Fig. 61 shows the horse with bit (Fig. 60) in his 
mouth. It is somewhat remarkable that a horse in the 
habit oi lolling will keep the tongue always to the same 
side, never changing. Therefore, some horsemen think 
that it is a want of power to keep the tongue in the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



231 



mouth. This smooth plate prevents the tongue from 
being lacerated by the teeth, while the other bit will 




Fig. 61. 



press the tongue against the tusks, cutting and injuring 
the tongue until it becomes diseased. The foregoing 
illustrations show how to control the habit by means of 
a proper bit. 




Fio- 62. 



232 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



Fig. 62 shows the tongue protruding from the right 
side of the mouth, caused by the bar bit. The snaffle 
bit, shown above, causes the tongue to protrude from 
the left side. 




Fig. 63. 



Fig. 63 shows a bit used in England for tongue 
lolling, that causes paralysis of the under lip, as shown 
in Fig. 64. This also shows the expression of the 
horse's face when .the bit was taken from the mouth. 




Fig. 64. 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 233 

Every time the reins were drawn tight the mouth was 
thrown wide open, to relieve the pain caused by pres- 
sure on the gums and under jaw. 



INJURY. 

One which some men have come some distance to 
see. The case is as follows: In December last a four- 
year-old colt got mired and sprained the cords running 
down the back part of fore leg. It was done by pull- 
ing out of the mud hole. At first he showed but little 
signs of injury, did not limp but merely rested his foot 
on the toe when standing. He rested for a month and 
grew worse. He was then worked lightly a week and 
grew better. He then began to grow worse gradually, 
and m about three months from the time he was 
sprained the pastern joint began to fly forward with a 
puffing noise every time he stepped. (This flying forward 
of the joint andpufifing noise was while he was in the act 
of lifting his foot.) At one time the leg was swollen some, 
for about three or four days. There is no swelling 
now, except slightly where the cords join the pastern 
joint, and the cord itself is not flat as the other leg is, 
but is somewhat rounded from its enlargement. He 
has not been used any for three months, and used but 
very little since hurt (in Dec). He can paw with the 
lame leg and does not flinch when standing square on 
it, and does not limp except the limp caused by the 
joint giving way when he attempts to lift his foot. The 
foot itself is not properly controlled by him, as it lacks 
spnng and firmness, and is not steady as it should be. 
There are diversities of opinion. If the cords were 



234 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

" pulled loose at the bottom, " why did it not fly for- 
ward and crack from the first ? I think the cord and 
nerve are injured, failing to supply vitality, elasticity, 
and strength to the limb. At times there is a little 
more than natural heat in leg from knee down to hoof, 
but at no time showed much fever, except the few days 
when swollen ; his feed is not high, as stated above. 

Answer. Your colt ought to have been attended to 
long before this time, and would have been quite sound, 
as the colt is young, but it will now require some 
length of time, and attention to our directions to bring 
him all right. Take plumbi acid and sweet oil, equal 
parts ; rub the pastern joint well; take a linen bandage, 
saturate with the liniment, wrap the bandage military 
fashion, keeping the ribbon twist on each side of the 
leg so as not to interfere with the splint before and 
behind. 




Fig. 65. 

After you have got on the bandage, extending 
from the knee to the hoof, take a thin hickory splint, 
soak in warm water so as to make it pliable, and fit 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 235 

tight to the bandage, before and behind. This is the 
only mode of treatment. Remove the splint every 
other day, so as to foment the bandage with the lini- 
ment, to keep the leg cool and prevent fever and 
sv^elling. 

Do not take off the bandage till you see without 
showing any signs of knuckling or weakness, which 
may be two months. A quiet yard and cut clover will 
be the best. 

The cut shows how to bandage : b b is the splint 
in front, and a a is the one in rear of leg. 

CARE or HORSES IN WINTER. 

This season requires greater care to be bestowed 
upon all animals. Hogs, and sheep, and cattle, and 
horses must be sheltered. They must be protected 
from the excessive cold, the fierce storms of winter. 
Horses require shelter fully as much, if not more, than 
any other class of animals. They seem to lack more 
than cattle and hogs the force to withstand the inclem- 
encies of the weather. They are animals of value, and 
their loss is always most keenly felt. On very few farms 
no more horses are kept than what are absolutely 
necessary to perform the usual farm work. When one 
is lost its place must be immediately supplied, and that 
will generally require an outlay of from one to two 
hundred dollars. It is clearly to the farmer's interest 
to care for his horse as best he can. He can afford to 
do so, as he will see to his own satisfaction when he 
has to replace a horse that dies from the lack of judi- 
cious care. In the winter care of horses the most im- 
portant item is the shelter This should be kept warm. 



236 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

It must keep out the rain, and snow, and wind. But it 
can be made too warm and too close. Horses must not 
be overheated when in the stables, or they will chill 
and contract disease when taken out into the free air. 
There must be a fair circulation of air through it. It 
must be well ventilated. If there is no ventilation the 
air confined over the manure and bedding, and breathed 
and rebreathed by the horses, will become foul and 
noxious and a fruitful source of disease. Because there 
is a free circulation of air and a good ventilation is no 
reason why the stable should be cold, it may be made 
warm and comfortable and yet well ventilated. Cold 
air may be admitted and a current established without 
harm if it is not allowed to blow directly on the horses. 
The great trouble with stables is that they are made 
too close. As we have said, they are too close for 
health because they do not admit of being ventilated. 
Another trouble attendant upon this over-closeness is 
lack of light. Light is as scarce as pure air. The 
horse stands in darkness and breathes foul air that is 
thoroughly impregnated with manurial vapors. Such 
circumstances are not likely to be conducive to health. 
Light is essential to health. Darkness affects all organs; 
but more particularly the eyes: it weakens the eyes, 
they seek to accustom themselves to the darkness, then 
when the horse is led out into the sunlight the eyes are 
dazzled and sustain injury. 

Stables should be clean. Horses like to be clean. 
Of all farm animals they most despise filth. Feed 
boxes should be scrubbed out in the fall ; stalls white- 
washed ; the manure and bedding cleaned up each 
morning. Use plenty of wheat straw for bedding; it is 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 



237 



a good absorbent and a poor conductor of heat, con- 
sequently it will save the urine and keep the horse 
warm. 

Horses require very little grain when not at work. 
Give them plenty of good bright hay or fodder, water 
them regularly, and that is about all they will want. 
They should be given a little ashes through the winter, 
and salt should be given at least twice per week. 




Fig. 66. 



COW SUCKING. 



I have a cow that sucks another cow, would like 
to hear of a remedy. 

We give an illustration of a sure preventive. The 
halter is made of good leather, spikes three inches long, 
riveted firm, with soft leather inside, over heads, to pre- 
vent chafing. 

HEREDITARY DISEASE IN l^REEDIXG STOCK. 

Hereditary unsoundness in regard to cattle, sheep, 
and swine is of importance only so far as it concerns 
organs which are intimately related to the vital pro- 



238 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL, 

cesses. In the selection of sires and dams, therefore, 
the expert is required to ascertain that they are free 
from any trace of disease, the tendency to which being 
transmitted to the offspring will lessen their value as 
meat and milk producing animals. Considering that 
the selection of breeding stock, with the view to culti- 
vate the qualities which are held to be most essential 
in food animals, has been for many years the great 
object of the breeder, it is remarkable (says a recent 
writer in the Field) that the question of hereditary un- 
soundness, which may entirely frustrate this object, has 
met with no attention. It is true that there are very 
few diseases of stock that are likely to be transmitted 
from parents to progeny ; but on that account it would 
be more easy to exclude from the list of sires and dams 
those animals which show any indication of being 
affected with them. Cattle are liable to a disease which 
does incalculable mischief to the creatures themselves, 
and it is at least probable that through them human 
beings suffer. The affection which is well known to 
breeders as tuberculosis (grapes) is closely allied to, if 
not identical with, consumption in man ; and there is 
some reasonable ground for suspecting that uncooked 
milk and under-cooked meat of turberculous cattle will 
induce the disease in susceptible human beings, partic- 
ularly children. That tubercle of the bovine animal is 
an inoculable disease has been proved by numerous 
experiments ; and the late Professor Bowley succeeded 
in transmitting the disease to swine by feeding them on 
tuberculous meat — a result which, in his opinion, 
tended to support the views of those authorities who 
held that man, whose digestive organs are nearly re- 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 239 

lated to those of the pig, is equally susceptible to infec- 
tion, provided that the tuberculous meat or milk of 
which he partakes is not sufficiently cooked to destroy 
the infective matter. Bovine tuberculosis is unfortu- 
nately widely spread among- the various breeds of cat- 
tle, not excepting the most valuable stocks, and the 
history of the last twenty years proves that its ten- 
dency is to continue to extend. The evidence on 
which it may be inferred that bovine tubercle is an 
hereditary disease is not quite conclusive ; but the facts 
justify a very strong suspicion that it is. Many in- 
stances of tubercle in calves born of tuberculous cows 
have been recorded from time to time, and the further 
fact of the steady increase of the disease during several 
years past is significant. It might be presumed that 
no breeder would keep in his stock a heifer or a bull 
which was known to be affected with tubercle. But it 
happens unluckily that some of th^ most valuable ped- 
igree stock have been and are so affected ; and to 
sacrifice such animals would involve a serious Joss to 
the breeder, and they are consequently kept in the 
breeding herd. On^e great difficulty in dealing with 
cattle which are affected with tubercle arises from the 
obscurity of the signs of the disease in the early stage. 
For a long time the affected animal may continue to 
feed and improve in condition, and, if a dairv cow, to 
give the usual quantity of milk ; and it is not until the 
affection has advanced to a serious extent that the con- 
dition jecomes bad, the milk poor in quality, and a 
painful hollow cough attracts the attention of the cow- 
man, and makes him suspect that there is something 
wrong with the animal's lungs, which are the organs 



240 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

most frequently attacked, although tubercle often in- 
vades all the important organs of the body, and com- 
monly affects the lymphatic glands. An expert who is 
called upon to examine a sire or dam, in order to be 
able to give an opinion as to the existence of bovine 
tubercle, must not expect to find all the characteristic 
features of the disease exhibited. It is. indeed, quite 
unlikelv that an emaciated subject, which is known to 
be affected with what the cowman calls "grapes," will 
be submitted for his inspection. On the contrary, 
when a certificate of freedom from hereditary un- 
soundness is required, it is certain that the animal in 
respect of which it is sought will be in good con- 
dition, and free from obvious signs of ill health. The 
examiner, in the first place, will remember that evi- 
dence of the existence of tuberculosis in the earlv stage 
is to be found chiefly in the glandular system, and he 
will therefore look with considerable suspicion on the 
presence of any hard nodules inside the animal's legs, 
in the groin, and along the course of the superficial 
veins. Wens, which are glandular tumors at the upper 
part of the throat, in the space immediately behind the 
jaw, are generally tuberculous ; and no animal in which 
these or other glandulars wellings are detected can claim 
to be certified as free from indications of tubercle. Ex- 
amination of the lungs by means of the stethoscope or 
the ear is an important means of diagnosis, of which 
the expert will, as a matter of course, avail himself be- 
fore he arrives at any conclusion as to the presence or 
absence of tuberculous deposit. It mav be objected 
that if it were the custom to examine breeding cattle 
for the purpose of excluding those which showed signs 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 24I 

of being infected with tubercle, many incipient cases 
would escape detection, which is quite true ; but, on 
the other hand, many cattle which are not even sus- 
pected, would be found to be diseased and disqualified ; 
and it must also be observed that the obscure forms of 
the disease which escaped detection one season would 
probably be found out the next. In any case, the final 
results of the system of inspection must be beneficial. 
Sheep and swine are not subject to any forms of heredi- 
tary unsoundness, unless the constitutional weakness of 
respiratory organs of sheep may be classed under that 
head. Sheep are constantly exposed to severe climatic 
changes, and as the majority of lambs are born in the 
season of east winds, it is not, perhaps, much to be 
wondered at if they become extremely susceptible to 
disorder of the central breathing organs. It would 
not be practicable to reject for breeding purposes all 
sheep which exhibit derangement of the lungs by cough- 
ing and quick breathing ; but it would be decidedly 
beneficial to the breed if all rams and ewes which gave 
evidence of lung disease in an advanced form were 
taken from the breeding flock and consigned to the 
butcher. 

DO OUK DOMESTIC ANIMALS REQUIEE WEAPONS OF 

DEFENSE ? 

In a wild state the wolf, representing the canine 
family, requires his tushes or tearing teeth so as to be 
able to hunt and tear the animal food necessary to sat- 
isfy hunger; but the dog in domesticity requires no 
such appendage. It is argued by professional and sci- 
entific investigators that a bite from a dog suffering 



242 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

from hydrophobia would not communicate the disease 
but for these tusks. The hog, in a wild state, requires 
his tusks in order to defend himself from enemies, even 
of his own kind ; but when in a domestic state he has 
no use lor them. They are no ornament to him ; far 
less are they useful in any sense, besides oeing danger- 
ous in many ways. Hoav often have we complaints of 
a breeding sow being torn and lacerated by a ferocious 
boar, and, in some instances, killed outright, whereas, 
if the tasks were removed when the animal is three 
months of age, the boar would have been rendered in- 
capable of injury to either man or beast, and, in conse- 
quence of his inability to do injury, would become the 
reverse of savage. The horned sheep and goat in 
domesticity no more require the horns as w^eapons of 
defense than an}^ one of our domestic animals, although 
some of our agricultural friends will plead for horns 
or some other weapon of defense when dogs are bent 
on mutton for supper. But let me say horns will not 
serve the purpose. Our American cattle have more 
horn than is consistent with the amount of beef they 
produce and the length of time they take to be finished 
for the market. Intelligent reasoning instructs us that 
horned cattle are apt to lacerate and kill, even in a play- 
ful mood, and how often do we read of some one being 
gored to death by a ferocious bull or cow. It is be- 
cause they know their pOAver to do injury and take a 
pride in driving man and beast from them that they 
are so bold in mischief. Take from them their weap- 
ons of defense and they become docile. No injury can 
result from depriving a dog, w^hen two months old, of 
his dangerous teeth ; no injury to a hog at three months 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 243 

to be deprived of his tusks, or a bull calf at one month 
to have his horns removed. In no instance has it ever 
been known that injury resulted, but as a reward docil- 
ity, contentment, and comfort, besides the confidence of 
the owner in attending to stock incapable of commit- 
ting injury. Other arguments are not wanting in favor 
of no horns on sheep or oxen. The amount of phos- 
phate and other animal combinations required to grow 
horn is a useless waste to the feeder. The agricultural 
community will soon appreciate the benefits resulting 
from the practice of depriving animals of the weapons 
of defense, and enormous horns will soon become a 
thing of the past. 

DEHORNIlSrG CATTLE. 

In order to inform our readers as to the true method 
of dehorning cattle, we give a sectional view of the 
anatomical structure of the head and horn of the steer. 
We only approve of sawing off horns as a necessity. We 
admit that it is cruel, as we admit that castrating is 
cruel, or branding etc. We also think that calfhood is 
the proper time to do this work, as the tissue and bone 
formation have not attained growth, and the operation 
is comparatively painless compared to sawing off the 
horns of an aged bull, cow, or steer. 

The horn proper is composed of enamel, and has 
no feeling, but the ''pith" as I have termed it in pre- 
vious communications, has all the accompaniments oi 
animal tissue generally. 

The frontal bones extend from the nose at O to 
the superior ridge of the skull, presenting a flattened 
but irregular surface, and entirely bare of muscular or 



244 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 



fleshy covering. The cranium or skull — that portion 
of the head which contains and protects the brain — is 
composed of eight bones — two frontal, at B, one parietal, 




Fig. 67. 

two temporal, one occipital, one ethmoid, and one sphe- 
noid. It is from the frontal bone that the horn springs; 
it is a continuation of the frontal bone. In hornless 
cattle the expanse of this bone is much narrower at the 
base of the head than in horned cattle, and contracts a 
little above the e)^es. The frontal sinuses, at C, extend 
from -the eyes to the foramen through which the brain 
escapes from the skull, and to the very tip of the horn A. 
Several of our correspondents have given us their 
views and experience, pro and con, in regard to de- 
horning. Some have said that in sawing off the horn 
they have exposed the dura matter. It is impossible 
to do this, from the construction of the frontal bone. 
You would have to cut off the frontal bone, B, which 
extends from the nasal bone almost to the tip of the 



THE STOCK BREEDERS' MANUAL. 245 

horn. There is a division of the frontal sinus, com- 
mencing about half way up the nose ; it is wanting in 
the lower part, where the two nostrils are thrown into 
one, and the frontal sinus communicating with the nasal, 
there is one continuous cavity from the muzzle to the 
horn, and from one nostril to the other. I have often 
thought that the supposed disease called "hollow horn" 
had its origin in this fact alone. Correspondents have 
stated that in sawing off horns at C the hemorrhage 
has been so great that it could not be stopped. Others 
have declared that the animals have bled to death. At 
this particular part of the horn a division of the blood 
vessels takes place, and branches off, whereas at the 
lower part of the horn hemorrhage is not so profuse, 
owing to the fact that only one part of the feeding 
blood vessel is cut through. 

In sawing off the horns, cut level with the frontal 
bone, shown at B, which extends to the back part of 
the occiput, parting the hair and cutting clean be- 
low the rings of soft horn, and immediately covering 
the parts with tar or carbolic ointment. No bleeding 
to speak of takes place and the sensation of pain is not 
so severe, as there are fewer nerves. 

Although we advocate dehorning in calfhood, we 
do not object to sawing off the horns in adult age, as a 
safeguard against injury or on the score of economy. 
We have been held up before the public as one of the 
"ignorant veterinary surgeons," etc. I think 1 have 
given more explicit advice on how to saw off the horns 
than I ever saw in a newspaper or five-cent circular. 
Any farmer who has a sharp, fine-tooth saw can do it- 
Cut clean into the skull, cover with tar or ointment, 



246 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

and let the animal run. 

We have given plain directions for dehorning 
calves in former articles. Have your knife sharp ; when 
the small protuberance on the calf begins to develop, 
cut it clean off near to the frontal bone, cover with 
ointment, and no horn will grow; but the searing iron 
applied at the instant will stop bleeding ; then put on 
the ointment and keep in the barn a day or two. The 
part will grow up and no mark is left. There is no 
pain and little risk. It is the proper way. 

POLLED CATTLE. 

During many years there have been in various 
parts of the country occasional bovines without horns 
commonly termed " muleys. " These were apparent 
"freaks" of nature, and never attained designation as 
a breed. However, there are recognized breeds of 
polled cattle, as the polled Angus, or Aberdeen Angus, 
and the Galloways in Scotland, and the Norfolks, or 
SufFolks, as they are indiscriminately called in England. 
Professor Youatt says of polled cattle : " So late as the 
middle of the last century the greater part of the Gallo- 
way cattle were horned; they were middle horns, but 
some were polled. For more than one hundred and 
fifty years the surplus cattle of Galloway had been sent 
into the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The polled 
beasts were always favorites with the English farmer, 
hence it happened m process of time the horned breed 
decreased and was at length superseded by the polled. 
They (the English Norfolks) are usually red ; some, 
however, are black, or either of their colors mixed with 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 247 

white, with a characteristic golden circle about the 
eyes. 

The Suffolk as well as the Norfolk beast undoubt- 
edly sprang from the Galloway, but is shorter in the 
leg, broader and rounder than the Norfolk, with a 
greater propensity to fatten and reaching to greater 
weights. The prevailing and best colors (of the Suf- 
folk) are red, red and white, brindled, and a yellowish 
cream color. The color of the polled Angus is black. 
The polled breeds are more valuable as beef animals 
than as milk producers, though the Suffolks have some 
reputation for milk. During the past few years con- 
siderable herds of polled cattle have been imported in- 
to this country and their progeny may be found in 
most of the western and central States. Public sales 
of these breeds were held in Kansas in 1882, and it is 
probable representatives of the herds have been turned 
among the long horned stock of the plains. The state- 
ment is made by our breeders that the progeny of a 
polled sire mated with horned cattle will in ninety- 
nine cases in one hundred be hornless. This being true 
the engrafting of the polled blood into that of horned 
cattle would seem desirable. 

Bulls are often vicious because they are shut up and 
have no exercise. The Dairyman suggests that a good 
thing to do in such cases is to get a tread power feed 
cutter, and make the bull cut the feed for the rest of 
the stock. This exercise will tame him and make him 
a surer breeder besides. 

GLANDERS. 
Among the prominent symptoms of glanders may 



248 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

be mentioned a discharge of purulent matter from one 
or both nostrils ; one or both glands on the inside of 
the lower jaw bones are more or less swollen, hard and 
knotty. One or both nostrils are sometimes swollen 
and glued up by a sticky, unhealthy looking pus, some- 
times streaked with blood. On opening the nostrils, 
pustules and ulcers are seen on the inner surface. The 
nose may sometimes bleed. The eyes are often promi- 
nent and watery; the coat rough and staring if the 
horse is in clean condition ; and the voice more or less 
hoarse. The appetite is not often impaired. Sooner 
or later, farcy buds may appear on the head, neck, 
body or limbs, generally along the inner side of the 
thighs. In chronic nasal catarrh, or so-called gleet, the 
glands between the jaw bones are very slightly, if at all, 
enlarged ; they are loose, not hard and knotty, as in 
glanders. This ailment, which is apt to persist for 
months, unless properly treated, may leave an animal 
in an unthrifty state, with a staring coat, disturbed 
appetite, dullness at work, cough and discharge from 
one or both nostrils ; but there are no pustules or 
ragged sores or ulcers within the nose, as in glanders. 
Chronic nasal gleet, however, is apt to run into glan- 
ders; and as there is no telling when the beginning is, 
such a horse, with chronic disease from the nose, 
should always be looked upon with suspicion, and be 
kept away from other horses. The difference between 
glanders and influenza or ordinary horse distemper is 
so marked that a mistake is not easily made. The 
more prominent symptoms of distemper are as follows: 
With sign s more or less prominent of a general febrile 
condition, there is great dullness and debility, frequent 



THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 249 

and weak pulse, scanty discharge of high-colored urine, 
costiveness, loss of appetite, and a yellow appearance 
of the membranes of the mouth and the eyes. The 
eyes appear more or less sunken, upper lid drooping 
and lips hanging, giving the animal a sleepy look ; there 
is cough, soreness of the throat, and labored breathing; 
the mouth is filled with frothy slime, the legs are cold 
and sometimes more or less swollen below the knees 
and hocks. In the advanced stages of distemper, there 
is a free discharge from both nostrils. 

PAKTURIEXT Al^OPLEXY. 

Harman, Ohio : Can you tell what causes after 
fever in cows? They generally live from two to three 
days after they drop their calves. They don't appear 
to show any signs of sickness before dropping them but 
shortly after become stupid. Do not take any notice 
of the calf. In the case under consideration the cow 
minced over her feed and finally got down, often try- 
ing to get up, but with all assistance could not. It 
appeared to me she was weak across the back ; only 
lived after she got down from ten to fifteen hours, and 
died hard. I opened and found the calf bed swollen ; 
opened calf bed and found it full of ulcers, all kinds of 
shape, fast to calf bed. They were yellow, and were 
from two to four inches long and an inch and up- 
wards in diameter. There were forty nine of these 
ugly things fast on inside of the calf bed. Sometimes 
there are not quite so many, but often more. Some of 
our cow and horse doctors say they never knew of one 
to get well. Often the calf has to be taken from the 
cow, as she has not strength to deliver it. 



250 THE STOCK breeders' MANUAL. 

Your COWS have died of parturient apoplexy, com- 
monly called milk fever, a disease associated with par- 
turition, and occurring- from twelve to forty-eight 
hours after calvmg. It is a very fatal disease, usually 
attacking the best milkers, and rarely appearing before 
the third calving. Treatment in those cases is nearly 
always unsatisfactory, but the majority of cases can 
be prevented by limiting the quantity of food between 
the time the cow runs dry and the period of calving 
arrives. As the time approaches the cow should be 
fed upon low diet ; if in the winter time a sufficiency 
of corn and hay should only be allowed, taking care to 
avoid all stimulating food and watery foods. In sum- 
mer time put the cow on a very bare pasture, where 
she can hardly get enough to sustain herself in a healthy 
condition, and a few days before calving give a cleansing 
drench two days or so before calving or when you see the 
pelvis bones slip. Always give the drench suspended in 
one pound of black molasses and one quart of oil meal 
gruel, and the same one day after calving, more espec- 
ially if the cow suffering from parturient apoplexy 
is fat and in high condition, always give the drench 
warm. Always see that your cow is in a good easy 
condition of the bowels, as constipation either in mare 
or cow only aggravates the disease. Always keep 
either mare or cow light in food if in high condition 
previous to parturition as a safeguard and you will 
never be troubled with milk fever. The ovaries 3^ou 
thought were ulcers found in the uterus after death, are 
the cotyledons, and serve as an attachment for the 
placenta or clensing, and by this means establish a con- 
nection between the mother and young animal before 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 25 I 

its birth. We have answered this query at length as 
it often happens that we have very ignorant opinions 
given, as when an examination of the mare or cow 
has been made after death, and we wish to explain in 
every case the fallacy of doing so. 

MISTAKES I^ FEEDING STOCK. 

Most farmers make two mistakes in feeding stock: 
they give the store animals too little and the fattening 
animals too much. I might add very properly that 
they make three mistakes, as they do not generally con- 
sider the conditions of animals in feeding. They often 
go to extremes and either expose them all the time to 
the cold or keep them in stables over night and turn 
them out into the cold during the day. Filth is a con- 
dition which will effectually offset food, and the want 
of water is another. Regularity in feeding means 
better digestion and assimilation of food than when fed 
any way and anytime. The most damaging condition, 
because most common, and the severest of all, is ex- 
posure to the cold. Constant exposure — that is, out 
of doors all the time — is not so liable to work mischief 
as the ridiculous kindness and senseless wisdom of most 
farmers. 

No wonder farmers say : "■ I have wintered " so 
many cattle. It is wintering. The other horn of the 
dilemma is, ** I have emptied my barns. I worked all 
summer to fill them, and I have carried it all out. " 
Now let us see. What per cent, of all this fodder has 
been actually wasted trying to warm all outdoors 
through the stock? One-half. This one-half, fed in a 
warm stable, with no exposure, would have kept the 



252 THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 

young animals growing-, increased their weight and 
value, and also the cows. Try it and be convinced, or 
stay where you are and keep on losing money. I 
confess I get out of patience with farmers who have 
stables and do not make the most of them. To turn 
stock out of a warm stable to stand around the yard, 
when often the change in the temperature is from ten 
to twenty degrees, is running too much risk. They 
are liable to get colds and to get out of condition. A 
warm stable is a profitable condition. It is a good 
place to save flesh, and the best kind of a place in cold 
weather to make it. 

In regard to my first proposition, store stock 
should be fed all of the coarse fodder they will eat, if 
this is to be their only food. They should be made to 
grow or there cannot be any profit except what is eked 
out of them next summer. I like the plan of less 
coarse fodder and a little grain. Stock do better and 
I am sure it is the cheaper way. Better sell some of 
the straw or hay and buy meal to feed in their place* 
I can make cattle, horses, or even sheep thrive on straw 
with grain ; a gill to sheep and two to four quarts to a 
cow or a horse, according to size and circumstances. 
A cow should never have more than six quarts of meal 
in twenty-four hours, and this should always be 
divided mto two feedings, morning and night. It 
should be mixed with some coarse food, roots or chaff; 
or if nothing else is available, cut straw or hay. This 
will necessitate chewing it so that it will be more com- 
pletely digested. Let the fattening animals remain in 
the stable, where they are uniformly warm and free 
from excitement. There is less danger of accidents 



THE STOCK BREEDERS MANUAL. 253 

when this is done. Either lead them to drink or take 
it to them. I am talking now of our smaller eastern 
ways. In the west such painstaking would be too 
costly. There corn is mostly fed in the husk or on the 
cob to secure mastication. Our profit lies in our care 
and saving. 



GLOSSARY. 



Abdomen. — The Belly, or that Part of the Body which Lies 
Between the Thorax and the Bottom of the Pelvis. 

Abortion. — The Expulsion of the Young from the Womb Be- 
fore the Natural Period of Delivery. 

Abscess. — A Collection of Matter. 

Absorbents. — The Lacteal and Lymphatic Vessels. 

Acute. — Severe in Character and Rapid in Course. 

Aggravated. — Made Worse. 

Albugo Oculi. — Partial Dimness of the Cornea of the Eye, with 
White Spots. 

Alkali — Alcali. — Term for a Substance which Has Properties 
the Reverse of Those of an Acid, and with which it Com- 
bines so as to Neutralize its Activity and Form a Salt. It 
has an acrid, urinous taste and caustic quality ; it changes 
vegetable dyes to green, renders oil miscible with water, 
and is distinguished from an earth by its greater solubility. 

Alteratives. — Medicines to Correct a Morbid Habit, and. Restore 
It to a Healthy Function. 

Alvine. — Belonging to the Belly, Stomach, and Intestines ; Ap- 
plied to the Faeces, or Dung, 

Amnion. — The Internal Membrane of the Ovum. 

Amaurosis. — A Species of Blindness. 

Anasarca. — Watery Effusion into the Cellular Tissue — Dropsy of 
the Limbs. 

Anastomosis. — To Communicate with One Another; Applied to 
the Connection of Blood Vessels and Nerves by Transverse 
Branches. 

Anodyne. — Medicine to Allay Pain and Produce Sleep. 

Anthelmintic. — A Remedy for Worms, 

Anti-Spasmodics. — Medicines to Prevent Spasms or Convulsions. 

Antiperistaltic. — The Verminicalar Contraction of the Intesti- 
nal Tube when That Takes Place in a Direction from Be- 
hind Forwards. 



GLOSSARY. 255 

Antiphlogistic. — Against Inflammation. Applied to Medicines 
Plans of Diet, etc., which Counteract Inflammation by De- 
pressing the Vital Powers. 

Antiseptic. — Counteractive of Putrefaction. 

Aorta. — The Great Artery which Arises from the Left Side of 
the Heart, and Gives Origin to all Other Arteries Except 
the Pulmonary. 

Aphthous. — Having Aphthse or Blisters on the Skin or Mucous 
Membranes. 

Appendices Epiploicw. — Masses of Fat Attached to Feet by Ped- 
icles to the Folds ot Peritoneum which Support the Intes- 
tines. 

Arthritic. — Pertaining to Joint Diseases. 

Ascites. — X Collection of Fluid in the Cavity of the Belly. 

Astringent. — Binding. 

Ataxic. — Showing Irregularity in the Functions of the Body, or 
in the Symptoms of a Disease. 

Atrophy, — A Wasting or Emaciation, with Loss of Strength ; 
Defect of Nutrition. 

Auricle.— AXiQwdrng to the Sounds in Different Parts of the 
Body, in Order to Form a Judgment of the Condition of 
these Parts. 

Autopsy. — Examination After Death. 

Bishoping. — Fraudulently Marking a Horse's Teeth. 

Blain. — A Disease in which there are Ulcers on the Mouth and 
Sides of the Tongue. 

Blopd Spavin. — Enlargement of the Sac which Contains the 
Lubricating Fluid of the Hock Joint. 

Bog Spjavin. — Blood Sj^avin Intensified, 

Bone Spavin. — A Bony Enlargement of the Lower Part of the 
Hock Joint. 

Bots. — The Larva3 of the Gad-fly. 

Bovine. — Relating to Cattle. 

Bronchia. — The Branches of the Windpipe. 

Bronchitis. — Inflammation of the Bronchial Tubes. 

Bronchocele. — A Disease Characterized by a Swelling in Front 
of the Windpipe. 

Buccal Memhranc. — The Lining Membrane of the Mouth. 

Glitoritis. — iMorbid Enlargement of the Clitoris. 

Ccecum Caput Coll. — Part of the Union of the Blind Gut .with 
the Remainder of the Large Intestines. 



256 GLOSSARY. 

Catheter. — A Tube Used to go Through the Urethra into the 
Bladder to Draw Off the Water. 

Calculus.— A Stone in Some Internal Organs. 

Ganula. — Name of a Tubular Instrument Introduced by Means 
of the Stilette. Any Fluid Present May be Evacuated 
by It. 

Gantharides. — Spani&h Flies. 

Capped Hock.— A Swelling of the Point of the Hock Behind. 

Capillaries. — Small Blood Vessels Connecting the Minute 'Ar- 
teries and Veins. 

Cardiac. — Pertaining to the Heart. 

Cataract— A Disease of the Eye, in which the Rays of Light 
are Prevented from Passing to the Betina in C'onsequence 
of Opacity of the Lens. 

Catarrh. — Common Cold. 

Cathartic. — A Purgative, 

Caries. — Ulceration of the Bone. 

Cavity. — A Hollow, such as the Cavity of the Belly, or of the 
Chest, or of the Head. 

Cerebral. — Pertaining to the Brain. 

Cerebriform. — Having an Appearance Like Brain Matter ; Ap- 
plied to a Form of Cancer. 

Cervical. — Pertaining to the Neck. 

Cholochrome. — The Coloring Matter of Bile. 

Chorea. — A Disease Characterized by Constant and Convulsive 
Movements of the Body. 

Chronic. — Long Standing. 

Chyle, — A Milky Fluid Derived from Food by Means of Diges- 
tion. 

Chylopoeiic. — Belonging to the Stomach and Intestines. 

Cineritious. — Like Ashes. Applied to the Outer or Cortical 
Substance of the Brain. 

Coagulate. — To Curdle or Congeal. 

Coffin Bone. — The Last Bony Segment of the Limb, which is 
Enclosed in the Hoof. 

Colic, — A Spasmodic Action of the Muscular Coat Over Certain 
Parts of the Intestines. 

Comatose . — Dro wsy . 

Conjunction. — The Mucous Membrane of the Eyelids and Front 
of the Eye. 

Contagious. — Catching. 



GLOSSARY. 257 

Contagion. — Transmission of Disease by Contact with Morbid 

Matter. 
Constipation. — Bound Bowels. 
Convalescent. — Progress Toward Recovery. 
Convulsion. — Violent Shaking of the Body or Limbs, such as 

Occurs in Epilepsy, Chorea, etc. 
Coronet. — The Prominence or Ridge Along the Upper Part of 

Hoof Where it Joins the Leg. 
Pornea. — The Clear Transparent Part on the Front of the Eye. 
Corrugated. — Wrinkled. 
Cortical. — Belonging to the Bark of Plant. Applied to the 

Outer Layer of the Kidney and Brain . 
Coryza. — Flow of Water from the Nose — Cold in the Head. 
Couching.— An Operation for Cataract. 
Coup de Soleil. — Sunstroke. 

Cranium. — ^The Bony Cavity which Contains the Brain. 
Cretaeeous. — Chalky. 
Cul-de-Sac. — A Blind Pouch. 
Curb.— An Enlargement of the Back of the Hock, and a Strain 

of the Ligaments of the Tendon. 
Cuticle, — The Skin. 

Cystitis. — Inflammation of the Bladder. 

Decoction. — Extraction of the Virtues of a Substance by Boiling. 
Decassation. — Union in the Shape of an X or Cross. Applied 

to the Crossing of the Optic Nerves, 
Depilation. — Loss of Hair. Spontaneously, or by Art. 
Depurants. — Medicines Supposed to be Capable of Purifying the 

Blood by Removing those Constituents which Interfere 

with its Purity. 
Desquamation. — Peeling or Scaling Off of the Skin. 
Dewlap. — The Loose Hanging Skin at the Lower Part of the 

Ox's Neck. 
Diabetes. — Excessive Urination. 
Diabetes Insipidus. — Urine, Profuse and Tasteless. 
Diabetes Meltit.us. — Urine, Profuse and Containing Sugar. 
Diaphoretic. — A Medicine which Increases the Sensible Perspi- 
ration. 
Diaphragm — The Muscular Partition Between the Chest and 

the Abdomen. 
Diarrhoea. — A Purging or Looseness. 
Dipterous. — Having Two Wings; Applied to Insects. 



258 GLOSSARY. 

Distemj^er. — An Epidemic, Catarrhal Fever. 

Diuretic. — A Medicine that Increases the Urinary Discharge. 

Diverticulum. — A Blind Tube Leading of the Course of a Longer 
One. 

Dorsal. — Belonging to the Back. 

Ductus. — Arteriosus, a Vessel Leading from the Pulmonary Ar- 
tery to the Posterior Aorta, and which is obliterated at birth. 

Dysentery. — The Flux. 

Dyscrasia, — A Bad Habit of Body. 

Dyspncea. — Difficul t Breathing. 

Dystokia. — Difficult Parturition. 

Ecchymosis. — A Li^dd Black or Yellow Spot, Produced by Blood 
Effused into the Connective Tissue. 

Echinococcus. — A Bladder Worm Usually Met in the Internal 
Organs. 

Emaciation. — Loss of Flesh. 

Emphysema. — A Term Applied to the Presence of Air in the 
Areolar Tissue, or to Diseased Enlargement of the Ulti- 
I mate Air Cells. 

Emprosthotoniis. — A Variety of Tetanus, in which the Body is 
Bent Forward by the Contraction of the Muscles, 

Emollient. — Softening, Relaxing. 

Emunctory. — An Organ whose Office is to give Exit to Matters 
that Ought to be Excreted. 

Enemata. — Injections, Clysters. 

Engorgement. — Morbid Accumulation of Blood in any Organ. 

Enteritis. — Inflammation of the Bowels. 

Entozoa. — AVorms that Live in the Animal Body. 

Enzootic. — Applied to Disease Peculiar to a District. 

Epidermis. — The Scurf, Skin. 

Epileptic. — Anything Relating to Epilepsy. 

Epilepsy. — A Disease which Comes on Suddenly, and is At- 
tended with Violent Convulsions. 

Epiphysis. — Part of the Bone Separated from the Shaft in Early 
Life by Gristle, which Afterwards Changes into Bone. 

Epithelium. — The Layer of Cells on the Surface of Mucous and 
Serous Membranes 

Evolution. — A Term Applied to a Theory of Non-Sexual Gen- 
eration, According to which the First Created Species Con- 
tain Within Themselves all the Individual Species of their 
Parent, and Generally Used as a Word by Breeders in a 



GLOSSARY. 259 

Refined Way, Meanicg in Heat, or Coming in Season, 
Epizootic. — A Disease Prevailing among Animals, 
Escharotic. — Caustic — The Property of Destroying Flesh. 
Exudation. — Discharge of Humors from the Body. 
Farey. — A Stage of Glanders Caused by Obstniction of the 

Absorbent Vessels. 
Fistula. — A Bad Sore on the Withers, from Neglected Saddle 

Galls, or on the Head, known as Poll-Evil. 
Flatulent. — Wind in the Bowels. 
Foetid. — A Bad Smell. 

Foetus, — The Young of Any Animal after it is Fully Formed. 
Founder. — An Inflammation of the Foot. 
Fundament. — The Lower Opening of the Bowels. 
Gangrene, — Beginning, or the First Stage of Mortification. 
Garget — Inflammation of the Udder. 
Gastralgia. — Pain in the Stomach. 
Gestation. — Pregnancy, or the Season of Foetal Life. 
Glanders, — A Discharo;e from the Nostrils, Terminating in Com- 
plete Obstruction of the Absorbent Vessels and Causing 

Death. The Disease is Contagious. 
Glands. — Minute Organs in the Body for the Modification and 

Secretion of Fluid, such as the Urine, Tears, Bile, etc. 
Glottis. — The Oblong Aperture Between the Vocal Cords of the 

Larynx, and Through which the Air Passes to the Lungs. 
Granulation. — Small, Reddish, Conical, Flesh-like Shoots that 

Form on the Surface of Suppurating Sores, 
Grease, — Inflammation of the Skin of the Heels. 
Haw. — A Small Body at the Inner Angle of the Eye, which is 

Rapidly Drawn Across the Ball of the Eye to Protect it 

from Injury. 
Hmmaturia. — Bloody Urine. 

Heaves, — Rupture of the Air Cells of the Lungs. 
Hemiplegia. — Paralysis of One Side Only, 
Hemorrhnge.-~F\ow of Blood, Bleeding. 
Hernia. — A Protrusion of the Intestines Through an Opening 

in the Belly. 
Hide Bound.— l)ryness of the Skin. 
Hoose. — The Common Cold when it Attacks Cows. 
Hydatid.— A Cyst Containing a Clear Liquid — A Bladder Worm. 
Infectious. — Capable of Communicating Disease. 
Infusoria.— An Order of Vermes of the Lowest Organization, 



26o GLOSSARY. 

and Found in Putrefying Liquids. 

Inflammation. — A Local (_PliYsiological ) Excitement ; the Part 
Takes on a More Active Biood Circulation, and is Hot, 
Swollen, and Painful. 

Ingesta. — Substances Introduced into the Digestive Organs. 

Inoculation. — Lnparting a Disease by Depositing its Morbid 
Product Beneath the Skin. 

Inspiration. — Lihaling the Breath. 

Integument, — The Skiu. 

Interdigital Space. — Space Between the Clefts of the Hoof in 
Cloven-Footed Animals. 

Iris. — A Membrane Stretched Across the Anterior Chamber of 
the Eye, and which Gives it its Color ; it is Pierced in its 
Centre by the Pupil. 

Lachrymal. — Belonging to the Tears — Applied to Parts En- 
gaged in the Secretion and Transmission of the Tears. 

Lacteals. — Veins Aiising from all Parts of the Small Lntestines 
by Capillary Tubes. Their Mouths Open into the Cavity 
of the Guts and Absorb the Nutriment from the Food. 

Lamincp. — Folds or Leaves, Applied to the Leaves in the Third 
Stomach of Ruminants, and to the Horny and Sensitive 
Folds by which the Hoof-wall is Attached to the Deeper- 
Seated Parts. 

Lampas. — A Swelling of the Gums. 

Larynx. — The L^pper Part of the Windpipe. 

Laryngitis. — Inflammation of the Tapper Part of the Windpipe. 

Locli-Jaio. — ^A Violent Contraction of the Muscles of the Jaw, 
Suspending Motion. 

Lumbar Region. — PertainiDg to the Loins. 

Luxation. — Dislocation of a Joint. 

Lymphatics. — A System of Vessels Engaged in Taking up Lymph 
Throughout the Body, 

Malaria. — ^liasma. Noxious Emanations from the Earth, espe- 
cially in Marshy Districts. 

Mallenders. — A Scurvy State of the Skin. 

Mammalia. — That Class of Animals that Suckle their Young. 

Mange. — A Painful Eruption of the Skin. 

3IeduUary.—^e\?itmg to the Marrow, or Analogous to Marrow. 

Megrims. — A Push of Blood to the Head, Causing the Animal 
to Stagger and Fall. 

Melanosis. — A Disease in Which Tumors are Developed, Con- 



GLOSSARY. 261 

taining a Large Amount of Black Pigment. 
Membrane. — A Thin White Flexible Skin Formed by Fibers 

Interwoven Like Network, and Serving to Cover Some Part 

of the Body, 
Meteorization, — Swollen Up with Air. 
Morbid, — Not Sound and Healthy. 
Mortification. — The Death and Putrefaction of One Part of the 

Body while its Remainder is Alive. 

Mucus. — Fluid Secreted by a Mucous Membrane. 

Multipolar. — Having Many Prolongations, 

Muscle. — The Organs of Motion, Consisting of Bundles of 
Fleshy Threads. 

Nares. — The Openings of the Nose, Anterior or Posterior. 

Nasal Gleet. — A Thickened Discharge from the Nose. 

Nasal Polypus. — A Tumor Hanging from the Nostril. 

Nausea. — A Sickness at the Stomach, with an Inclination to 
Vomit. 

Navicular Disease. — A Growing Together at the Joint Formed 
by the Coffin Bone and the Lower Posterior Bone, in Con- 
nection with the Navicular Bone. 

Nephritis. — Inflammation of the Kidneys, 

Nucleus. — The Centre of a Tumor or Morbid Concretion. A 
Minute Cell within a Cell. 

Omentum. — Folds of Serous Membrane Passing from an Ab- 
dominal Organ to Another One So-called. 

Opiate, — A Medicine which Acts like Opium in Producing Sleep ; 
an Anodyne. 

Ophthalmia. — Disease ; Inflammation of the Eye. 

Ovarian. — Belonging to the Ovary. 

Overreaching. — Striking the Fore Leg with the Shoes of the 
Hind Feet. 

Ozfena. — A Discharge of Matter from Ulcers on the Nose. 

Parenchymatous. — Belonging tp the Texture of a Glandular or 
Other Organ, 

Pathology. — Diseased Pathology — That Branch of Medicine 
whose Object is the Knowledge of Disease. 

Paroxysmal. — A Fit of Any Disease, 

Parturition. — Giving Birth to Young. 

Pastern, — The Part of a Horse's Leg Between the Joint Next 
the Foot and the Coronet of the Hoof. 



262 GLOSSARY. 

Pelvis. — The Basin or Large Cavity whicli Terminates the Trunk 
containing the Urinary and Genital Organs. 

Peritoneal Cavity. — The Sac of the Peritoneum, or Lining Se- 
rous Membrane of the Abdomen. 

Peiechioe. — Small Purple Spots which Appear on the Skin and 
Mucous Membranes in the Course of Certain Maladies. 
They are Attended with Great Prostration. 

Periosteum. — The Membrane which Surrounds the Bones. 

Pharynx. — The Back of the Mouth. 

Phlehotomist. — One who Bleeds from the Veins, 

Phlegmon. — A Circumscribed Inflammatory Swelling, with In- 
creased Heat and Pain, and Tending to Suppuration. 

Pleural Cavity. — The Sac of the Pleura, or Lining Membrane 
of the Chest or Lungs. 

Pleurothotonus. — A Variety of Tetanus, in which the Body is 
Curved Laterally by the Stronger Contraction of the Mus- 
cles on One Side of the Body. 

Pleuro- Pneumonia — Inflammation of the Lungs and Pleura. 

Polarity. — That Property which Disposes the Particles of all 
Kinds of Matter to Move in a Regular and Determinate 
Manner when Affected by Other Agents. 

Poll. — The Highest Point of the Head, Marked by a Transverse 
Bony Bidge. 

Prognosis. — A Judgment Formed Regarding the Future Pro- 
gress and Termination of any Disease. 

Probang. — ^A Long Slender Piece of Whalebone, with a Piece 
of Sponge at One End for Examining the Gullet, or Re- 
moving any Obstruction in It. 

Probe. — An Instrument with which the Depth and Extent of 
Wounds are Tried. 

Pudenda. — The Parts of Generation. 

Pulmonary. — Belonging to the Lungs. 

Pumiced Foot. — A Foot Where the Sole is Level with or Below 
the Side of the Hoof. 

Purgative. — A Medicine for Evacuating the Bowels. 

Pus. — The White or Yellowish Matter Generated in Ulcers and 
Wounds in the Process of Healing. 

Putrefaction. — The Natural Process by which Animal and Vege- 
table Bodies are Disorganized and Dissolved. 

Quarantine. — The Time During which Men or Animals Comin 
from a Country where any Contagious Disease Exists are 



GLOSSARY. 263 

Kept from Intercourse with the Inhabitants of the Country. 

Quinsy. — Sore Throat. 

Quitter. — A Fistula on the Coronet. 

Quidding. — Dropping the Partly Chewed Food. 

Rabies. — Hydrophobia. 

Rectum. — The Straight Gut ; the Last of the Intestines. 

Ringbone. — A Bony Enlargement of the Foot. 

Roaring. — Noisy Respiration. 

Ruminant. — An Animal that Chews the Cud. 

Salivation. — An Increased Discharge of Mucus from the Mouth. 

Sallenders. — Scurfy Eruption on the Inside of the Hock Joint 
of the Hind Leg. 

Sand Crack. — A Separation of the Laminse of the Hoof. 

Schneiderien Membrane. — The Mucous-Membrane Lining of 
the Nose. 

Scouring. — A Loosening of the Bowels. 

Sineiv. — A Liga.nent which Binds the Bones Together. 

Slinking. — Abortion ; Miscarriage. 

Scolex. — The Ascaris Lumbricoides — An Intestinal Worm. 

Sensorium. — The Common Centre of Sensations. 

Septum Ventriculosum. — The Muscular Partition Between the 
two Ventricles of the Heart. 

Serous Mennbranes. — A Class of Delicate Membranes which 
form Closed Sacs, met with in the Chest, Abdomen, and 
Spinal Canal. 

Sprain. — The Violent Stretching of a Ligament or Tendom. 

S uperfwtation. Impregnation when the Mare is Already Preg- 
nant. 

Spaying. — Removing the Female Genitals (Ovaries). 

Sphincter. — A Name Given to Several Annular Muscles, which 
Constrict or Close Certain Natural Openings. 

Splint. — A Bony Enlargement Below the Knee. 

Sternum. — The Breast Bone. 

Tetanus. — Locked Jaw. 

Traumatic. — Pertaining to Wounds. 

Through Pin. — A Wind Gall on the Hock. 

Thrush. — A Softening of the Frog of the Foot. 

Thymus Gland. — A Sweet Bread of the Butcher. An Organ 
Situated in the Anterior Part of the Chest in the Medias- 
tinum, and Usually Absent in Adult Life. 

Tympanum. — The Drum of the Ear. 



\\ 



264 GLOSSARY. 

Trephine,-^ An Instrument for Making Openings in Flat Bones, 
It Consists of a Circular Saw, Centre Pin and Handle, and 
Kemoves a Circular Portion of the Bony Plate. 

Trituration. — Reducing to Powder. 

Trocar. — An Instrument for Kemoving the Water in Dropsy, 
or the Wind in Hoove. 

Tympanites. — Drum Belly, or Symptoms of Windy Colic. 

Ulcer, — A Sore on the Surface. 

Umbilical Cord. — The Navel String. 

Urethra. — The Channel Through which Urine is Discharged 
from the Bladder. 

Uterus. — The Womb. 

Vagina. — The Passage Leading to the Womb. 

Vertebra, — One of the Back Bones. 

Vejia Fortce. — A Vein which Receives the Blood from the Stom- 
ach, Intestine, Spleen, and Pancreas, and Breaks up Again 
in the Substance of the Liver. 

Ventricle. — Literally a Little Belly ; a Name GiveBi to Various 
Small Cavities. 
Vertigo. — Griddiness . 

Vibrissce. — The Hairs that Grow at the Entrance of the Nostrils 
and Other Outlets. 

Virus. — A Morbid Poison ; a Principle Inappreciable to the 
Senses, which is the Agent which Transmits Infectious Dis- 
eases. 

Viscera. — The Entrails ; Internal Organs. 

Warhles. — Lumps on the Back Caused by an Insect. 

Withers. — The IJj)per Part of the Shoulders. 

Wheezing. — Asthmatic Breathing. 

Whirlhone Lameness, — Lameness in the Hip Joint. 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Pelvis of the Cow 7 

Udder of the Cow 63 

Free Martins or Twin 

Foetuses 68 

Foetus and Membranes 70 
Hock Presentation, with 

Cord in Position 74 

Posterior Presentation — 
Lumbo-Sacral Posi- 
tion 76 

Fore Limb Crossed Over 

the :?s^eck 77 

Anterior Presentation — 
Both Fore Limbs 
Completely Ketained.. 78 

Lateral Deviation 80 

Anterior Deviation — Ex- 
treme Downward De- 
viation of the Head... 82 

Fig. 11— Head Loop ) 

" 12— Hook C 84 

" 14— Repeller.... ) 

Fig. 15— Tube Crotchet..^ 
" 16— Short Crotchets 1 «« 
" 17— Double Crotch- f ®^ 

ets J 

Figure 18— Long Double 

Crotchets 87 

How to Adjust Head Loop 88 
Head Rope and Double 
Crotchets on Dead 

Foetus 90 

Protection Rail, for Pigs.. 97 
Prolapsus Uteri ; or, In- 
version of the Uterus... 105 
Ecthyma or Simplex, Pus- 
tular Eruptions on the 
Arms of Veterinarians 
from Contact with the 
Vagina in Protracted 

Labor 106 

Pilling Milking Tube 130 

Lifting a Cow's Leg 131 

Horn Marks, Cow 134 



How to Apply a Bandage 

on the Eye 136 

How to Apply a Bandage 

on the Lower Jaw 137 

How to Apply an Eight- 
Tailed Bandage 137 

How to Apply a Bandage 
to Shoulders and 

Breast of a Horse 138 

Steaming the ^ose 139 

To Apply a Poultice to 

the mthers 140 

Figure 33 Shows a Saddle 
Gall, Elbow Tumor 

and Collar Boil 141 

Figure 34 Shows the Way 

to Apply the Bandage 141 

Stifle Lameness, Side Line 142 

Stifle Shoe 143 

Stifle Lameness, Raised 

Platform 144 

Securing a Horse 152 

Dr. H. W. Pratt's Ecra- 

seur 152 

Parrot Mouth 155 

Projecting Medlar 155 

Too High Checking.. 162,161,158 

Trachea or Windpipe 163,159 

Sarcoptes Hippopodus 172 

Oxford Down Sheep 174 

Sheep Affected with Rot.. 179 

Ringing a Bull 190 

Umbilical Hernia in Calf.. 195 

Throwing a Cow 210 

Horse in Sling, in Position 212 

Broken Leg 213 

Texas Cattle Tick 220 

Halter Puller 221 

Corns, Three-quarter Shoe 228 

Tongue Lolling — Figure... 58,(52 
Tongue Lolling Hits, Fig 59,()0,63 

Dehorning in Cattle 260 

Cavalry Bandage 234 

Cow Sucking 237 



INDEX. 



Abortion or Premature 
Expulsion of the Foe- 
tus 52 

Abortion— Its Treatment 

and Cure 55 

Acari and Eutozoa — Kot 

in Sheep 174 

Acari and Eutozoa of our 

Domestic Animals 170 

Age of a Cow as Indi- 
cated by Horn Marks 134 

Anterior Deviation — Ex- 
treme Downward De- 
viation of the Head.. 82 

Anterior Presentation — 
Both Fore Limbs 
Completely Ketained 78 

Bad Habits of the Horse 221 

Black Leg in Calves 132 

Boil— Shoe 128 

Bones of the Tail of the 
Mare and Yaginal 

Cavity 11 

Breeding 27 

Bronchocele in Lambs..., 126 

Canker or Foul in Feet.,.. 131 

Care of Horse in Winter.. 235 

Chorion. The 59 

Comfort of Cows in Barn 

and Field 31 

Dead Foetus 90 

Dehorning Cattle 243 

Delivery — Assistance in.... 71 
Description and Xames of 
the Different Bones of 
the Pelvis and Differ- 
ence in the Anatomy 
Between the Male and 

Female 9 

Diarrhoea in Calves 118 



Do Our Domestic Animals 
Require Weapons of 
Defense? 241 

Dystokia — Fore Limb 
Crossed Over the 
Xeck 77 

Dystokia, with Lateral 

Deviation 80 

Economy in Feeding 

Farm Stock 202 

Ecthyma or Simplex 106 

Effect of Food on Milk, 

Butter and Cheese 196 

Effect of Tight Reining 
upon the Trachea or 
Windpipe 196 

Extractor to be L^sed only 
when the Colt or Calf 
is Dead 87 

Exoides or Texas Tick 219 

Feeding Milch Cows 207 

Foetal Dvstokia 84 

Foot Rot 183 

Foot Rot in Sheep 178 

Foot and Mouth Disease ; 

or, Murrian in Cattle.. 147 
Fractures and Broken 

Limbs 212 

Foul Feet 184 

Free Martins. — Twins or.. 49-69 

Generation and Concep- 
tion 18 

Generative Organs of the 

Mare 19 

Gestation 30 

Gestation of Sheep and 

Goats 48 

Glanders 247 

Health and Disease. — The 

Cow in 23 



INDEX. 



267 



Hereditary Disease in 

Breeding Stock 237 

Hind Limb Deviation — 

Anterior Presentation 91 

Hock Presentation 72 

Hock Presentation, with 

Cord in Position 74 

Horse — Buying a 124 

Instruments— Use of 88 

Instruments Used for 

Dead Foetus in Utero 86 

Injury 233 

Lumbo-Sacral Position — 
Posterior Presenta- 
tion 76 

Malformation ; or, Inter- 
nal Defects of the 

Horse 154 

Mammie— The 61 

Milking 117 

Milk Fever 94 

Mistakes in Feeding Stock 251 

(Ertrum Evolution ; or, 

the Season of Heat... 15 

Parasitic Disease in Lungs 

in Lambs 216 

Parturient Apoplexy 249 

Pelvis— The 7 

Pelvis — Bones of the 8 

Pigs 48 

Placenta— The 58 

Pleuro-Pneumonia 191 

Polled Cattle 246 

Pregnancy— Multiple 65 

Pregnancy and Parturi- 
tion — Signs of 38 

Pregnancy— Sensibility of 42 

Pregnancy— Duration of 44 



Pregnancy in the Cow 47 

Prolapsus LTteri 104 

Prolapsus Uteri; or, In- 
version of the Uterus 39 
Puerperal Fever in Swine 97 
Puerperal Fever in Cows. 100 

Question and Answer 103 

Kaising Farm Stock with 

Profit 199 

Bectum — Inverted 1 30 

Binging a Bull 189 

Bupture of the Dia- 
phragm 168 

Securing a Horse 151 

Sickness in Sheep 127 

Sickness in Swine 124 

Soiling 184 

Sound Horse — A 125 

Subacute Mammitis 129 

Superfoetation 64 

Summer Disease in Cattle 187 

Texas Cattle Fever 145 

Throwing Cattle or Horse 209 

Tongue Lolling 229 

Umbilical Hernia 194 

Umbilical Vesicle — The.... 60 

Uterus. — Changes in 50 

Uterus at the Time of 
Conception and After 
Conception — Situa- 
tion of the 43 

Veterinary Appliances 136 

Weaning and Care of 

Calves 205 

What's the Matter with 

the Ewe 157 



W. N. ENSIGN. 

CLARIDON, O. 



J. C. HATHAWAY. 

CLEVELAND, O. 



Long View Farm, 



CLARIDON, o. 




IMPORTERS AND BREEDERS OF 



Shropshire Sheep, 

From English Prize Stock. 

Our stock of Shropshires has been selected regardless of 
price with great care from the flocks of noted and celebrated 
progenitors, is eiegible for registration in the American 
Shropshire Association. Young Stock for sale. 

Correspondence Solicited. 

Note. — Shropshire Sheep Breeders that wish a change of 
blood introduced into their flocks cannot do better than supply 
their wants from the strong-boned and healthy constitution 
which this fine stock of sheep possess. We advise all in want of 
fine wooland heavy mutton to visit the flock and get a feast to 
their eyes. 



VETERINARY INSTRUMENTS 



FOR 

CUTTING THROUGH STRICTURES IN COWS TEATS, 
and Solid Silver Milking Tubes, 

wiTM tme: le;^d probe: oh sound, 

Dr. G. STUART, Veterinary Surgeon, 

WHO WILL SUPPLY ANY SIZE. 
DIF^ECTIONS IN 'E.J^CI'^ BOX. 

LEAD PROBE OR SOUND 

For the treatment of stricture and obstructed teats of 
cows, also for enlarging the openings in cows teats. 

Made in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large, postpaid 
25 cents each. 

For the treatment of garget these instruments are invalu- 
able, and saves the udders of cows from disease and obstruc- 
tions, where no other device can. They are painless in thei) 
operation. I have used them in a mares teats successfully. 



PILLING'S PATENT. 





SOLID COIN SILVER. 

NIILKING TUBE:S. 

FOR SORE AND OBSTRUCTED TEATS AND HARD MILKING COWS. 

For the use of Veterinary Surgeons and Special Cases longer sizes are made, but 
are the same as above except in length and can be made any length by moving the 
adjustable slide ; can also be used for a probe to pass the obstruction. 

The Tubes are made of Coin Silver. All genuine have stamped on slide Geo. P. 
PiLLixG— Uoin. 

PRICKS: 

Set of Four Tubes, 1^ in S2.00 

Each m 

SPECIAL LENGTHS. 

2J4 inches, each S .65 

2% " •' 80 

314 " " 95 

3% " " 1.10 

4% " " 1.2.5 

Longer Tubes in proportion. 

These Tubes will be sent postage paid to any part of the United States or Canada 
on receipt of price. 

gb:ohgk p piLuiNa ^ son, 

Aranufacturers and Patentee, 
117 & 119 S. Eleventh St., PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



DR. H. W. PRATT'S ECRASEUR 




PATENT APPLIED FOR. 

The Most Successful and Lowest Priced Instrument yet invented for Castrating 
Domestic Animals. Horses, Mules, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Hogs or Dogs, Successfully 
Castrated without Hemorrhage. 

We will furnish Dr. A. Liautard's work on Animal Cistration, if ordered with 
the Ecraseur, for SI extra, or if ordered separately the work will be sent post paid 
upon receipt of the usual price, >2. 

The following are from the many testimonials which we are constantly receiving : 

Chicago, January 19th, 1888. 
Dr. H. W. Pratt: I can recommend your Ecraseur as far superior to any that I 
have used. Yours truly, J. R. YORK, V. S. 

Chicago, November 3rd, 18°7. 
James Maxufacturixg Company: I have much pleasure in saying that this 
simple and practical instrument has given perfect satisfaction, and that I can warmly 
recommend it to my fellow practitioners. 

TH. SCHRCEDER, M. D., V. S., 108 Dearborn Ave. 

PRICE OF ECRASEUR, $5.00. Address. 

JAMES MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 214 State Street, Chicago, Ills. 

We have given Dr. H. W Pratt's Ecraseur a fair unbiased trial 
and find it easy and safe. We do not require to press the testicle 
through a complicated chain, cansing an animal to suffer unneces- 
sary pain, vre only slip the curve of the Ecraseur round the sperm- 
atic cord well up in the scrotum, give a turn or two of the screw, 
and the work is done. There is not a drop of blood lost. 
Xo scirrhur tumor can form as no ragged laceration has taken 
place to the end of the spermatic cord. The instrument being so 
easily cleaned no blood poisoning follows, as it is beautifully nickle 
plated so that it will not rast or give off corroded poison, as does 
brass. It suits our principle of castration standing. An original 
or ridgling is always safe and surest done standing. We run no 
risk in injuring the animal by throwing. Every Stock Breeder can 
castrate his own stock as w^ell as the most experienced. Xo 
colt can be ruptured by tearing or laceration, as there is no 
straining or pressure on the part. 

It is the cheapest instrument yet invented. We will send post 
paid, to any address on receipt of 86.50. The Stock Breeders' Manual 
and Ecraseur. Every Stock Breeder his own Castrator. 



STUART'S 

C ompound V eterinary Remedies 




-FOR THE- 



Treatment of Disease, Lameness or Injury in Horse, 
Cattle, Sheep, and Hogs. 



DR. J. STUART, V. S., 



lo2 Prospect St., 



ci.E:vE:LANn, o. 



GARGOLINE. 




Swelling, Inflammation, Soreness, Hardness or Garget 
in the udder is cured quickly by the use of Gargoline. 
Cures Cracks or Scratches in the Teats or Pustular 
Eruptions on the udder, or Scale Sores, or Pox. making 
it a pleasure to the cow to be milked instead of pain. 
It is none poisonous to voung animals, and is the only 
liniment known to Stock Owners that will cure Garget, 
Snake Bites, Sores or wound made b}' flies or other 
insects. Prevents the cow pox, from spreading in the 
herd. We send it South by the gross. 

Everv Stock Owner that has used it once will use 
it again. 



Peice, si. 00 PER Bottle. 



DR. J. T. STUART, V. S., 

lo2 Prospect Street, - CLE^VEL^P^D, O. 



STTJ^HT'S 

COMPOUND HOOF OINTMENT 

As prepared by James Stuart, is the best invigorator for growing and strengthen- 
ing the hoof, will spread contracted hoof in a short time if caused by Fever, Inflam- 
mation, Founder, Tread or Injury, will heal Quarter Crack, Sand Crack or Thrush, 
and has been the means of preventing Lock Jaw by being pricked with a nail. Every 
stock owner ought to keep it on hand as it is unparalleled to cure foul feet in Cows and 
Sheep. 

MY COMPOUND CONDITION POWDERS 

Have never been excelled by any preparation getting the name of condition powderp, 
I am able to guarantee that my Compound Condition Powders have saved more 
animals than any other preparation ever in possession of any stock owner. They 
remove worms without purging or weakening the condition of the animal. One 
tablespoonful in feed with one teaspoonful of salt morning and evening will clean the 
bowels of Bots, Worms, or Gravel from the kidneys. Purify the blood. Soon cleanse 
the skin from all unhealthy diseases, Farcy, Eczema, Mange, Dandruff and Scurf. 
Blood Poisoning by strengthening the blood, overcoming its impurity brings the 
animal into a good state of health and gives no check to young and growing stock. 




COMPOUND HEALING OINTMENT. 

1,.- ^^i'^*^®*^' ^1^^^''^^^^^^'^°^' ^" shorter time without changing the color of the 
\Tml fc!i^*"y other remedy ever used. Will cure Scratches, Grappy (Jreased heels, 
u^o\.i ri'I^^^^^l^^^^'i^ Lacerated by rusty barb wire, Ulcers, or foul feet in cattle, 
nas healed deep cuts and broken legs with no other ointment, and in every case did 
not leave a scar. 



DR. J. STUART, V. S., 



152 Prospect St., 



CLEVELAND, O. 



STUART'S NON-POISONOUS SHEEP DIP. 




This Dip can be used freely on sheep and lambs, as the best invigorator for 
promoting the luxurous growth of fine long wool, showing a texture that commands 
the best price. It not only grows a fine heavy fleece by keeping the skin clean and 
healthy, but destroys Ticks, Lice, and their emhroyo, whereby the health and comfort 
of sheep and lambs, is not interfered with whenever Stuart's non-poisonous dip is 
used. The acarus scabis, or scab insect is quickly destroyed, and scab in a flock has 
been cured by one application, and fly struck sheep or lambs are cleaned and skin 
cured by one application. And every abrasion of the skin is quickly healed, destroy- 
ing all maggots and eggs that may be adhering to the wool, therefore instead of 
growing a fleece weighing 4 or 5 lbs., 10 to 14 lbs. is not an extraordinary weight when 
Stuart's dip has been used. The proper name is Palm Oil Dip. As that forms the 
basis that gives to every fleece that wonderful protection against chills, and renders 
the fleece imprevious to wet where other dips absorb the wet, and in cold weather is 
the cause of so much disease and death in flocks. Another great benefit wherever 
the face cover is used and saturated with Stuart's Dip, Grub in the head is unknown. 
The Ostrus Ovis or Gad Fly will not come near the flock, even when the face and 
head of sheep or lambs is rubbed with the dip, lambs are free of grubs. 

We see the flock congregated in a corner keeping their noses close to the ground 
tormented by the insects, loosing flesh when they ought to be feeding in ease and 
quietness. The Sarcophaga Canaria or flesh fly that deposit and breed in a dirty 
fleece, is eradicated by one application. The dip is used to destroy Fleas and Mange 
on Dogs. 

The acaria that infest the skin of the horse, in the shape of large blue lice, 
(Hgematopinus of the hor.«e), also the Hog Louse or (Malopinus of the hog), all 
which and their embroyo is destroyed by one application of Stuart's Non-poisonous 
Sheep Dip, that destroys Scab Matter, Scurf, Dandruff or Lice, on the skin of Horse, 
Cattle and all Animals. Warranted to cure without injury to animal life. 

Sold at $1.00 per ©allon. 

Any animal can lick itself as it is non-poisonous. The Cash must accompany the 
order. 

Stuart's Compound Condition JPowderSy $1 per Box, 
Compound Healing Ointment, $1 per Box. 
Compound Carbolic Ointment, $1 per Box, 
StuarVs Sheep Dip, $1 per Gallon, 
Ossidine, $1 per Box, 

All Veterinary Medicines Prepared to order by 

JA.S. T. STUART, 



152 Prospect Street, 



CLEVELAND, O. 



STUARTS OSSIDINE 

For the treatment of Lameness in Horse and Cattle cannot be excelled. Cures 
Splints, Spavin, Side Bone, Ringbone, Curb and all Bone Enlargements, Elbow 
Tumors, Sweeny. Collar Galls, Fistula on the Withers, Pollevil, Enlarged Glands, 
Thrush or swelling of any kind; does not leave any blemish, does not require any 
antidote. The horse can work all the time while under treatment. No other remedy 
known to the Veterinary Profession can compete with it either for rapid treatment 
or quick recovery. No firing iron needed as it never fails to cure, leaving a scar on 
the part as long as the horse lives, reducing the price of the Animals. Needs no costly 
Antidote as Glycerine, Arnica or Opium. 

It is peculiar in its action by being painless, therefore, there is no irritation to 
ruflBe the temper of any animal while under treatment. Price per Box. Sl.OO. 

Cheapest remedy for the above mentioned diseases ever offered to horsemen, can 
be used on a mare in colt as there is no pain, or on a colt with bent joints two days 
old. Ring-worm on cattle is cured by one application. 

TESTIMONIALS. 

We have not resorted to the unprincipled practice that we know has been 
resorted to, in order to get up testimon' by several Proprietory Medicine Manufac- 
turers, by giving gratis samples of their medicines so as to get parties to perjure 
themselves for favor. Every testimonial comes unsolicited and speakes for itself. 

My mare was lame for one year and has been treated by different competent 
Veterinary Surgeons with no good done her. I had her examined by Dr. G. Stuart, 
V. S„ who prescribed a box of Ossidine, I used it as directed, and the first application 
I knew a difference in her traveling, the lameness gradually disappearing and in 
fourteen days she was as sound and free of the lameness as ever she was. I have 
driven her every (Jay since, sometimes long drives. The Ossidine did not blemish or 
take a hair off, which makes it all the more wonderful to say nothing of the small 
expense of only Sl.OO. C. W. SHERMAN, 

433 Superior Street, Cleveland, 0. 
^ My horse on which I used the dollar box of Ossidine is as sound as the dollar I 
paid for it, he was lamed when stirting for the last two years. Thanks to Dr. G. 
Stuart, V. S., It did not blister so as to leave a blemish or take a hair off. 

JAS. WATSON. Leesville, 0. 

My horse that had the sweeny is well, and the shoulders is filling up all right, 
walks and trots without showing any stiffaess. He did not seem to feel any 
irritation when we rubbed it well in, it did not take a hair off • 

H. C. WILSON, Marion, 0. 

Sprained pastern and swelled leg. I used the Ossidine as was directed, and in one 
week my mare was sound. It did not blemish which makes it all the more valuable. 

J. A. MASON, Ashtabula, 0. 

UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS 

In favor of Ossidine Ointment that we received by express. 

Enclosed find Sl.OO for which send me one box of Ossidine Ointment. I have used 
one box, I like it very well. It has done more for a spavined mare I have, then I ever 
expected could be done. I am gratefully yours, ED. JONES, 

Botzum Station, Summit Co., 0. 
From Dr. T. Forney, V. S., Leetonia, 0. 

I recommend your Ossidine Ointment whenever I can, Ossidine is the boss when 
rightly applied. Dr. T. Forney is a very successful Surgeon. 

From 0. L. Russell. Solon, 0. 

I have used Ossidine Ointment on Spavin and Ringbone, and am well pleased 
with it. 

From M. A. W., Glenville Race Track. 

Jas. Stuart send me another box of your Ossidine Ointment. My horse got lame 
at the home stretch by striking his knee after we rubbed him dry. I ordered the 
Ossidine Ointment rubbed on, and in 30 minutes he trotted his next heat without 
ever showing a lame step, and has not been lame since. 



